University  of  California. 

FROM  THE    LIBRARY  OF 

Dr.  JOSEPH   LeCONTE. 
Gift  of  Mrs.  leconte. 

No. 

THE  POSITIVE 


Evidences  of  Christianity. 


BY 

THE  REV.  B.  W.  BOND, 

Of  the  Baltimore  Conference,  M.  E.  Church,  South. 


EDITED  BY  THOS.  0.  SUMMERS,  D.D.,  LL.D. 


vTVb  r a* 

or  THE 

NIVERSIT 
or 

IFQRH\±* 

&*akriJk,  §£etm.: 

SOUTHERN  METHODIST  PUBLISHING  HOUSE. 

1880. 


(3T//0I 

(3  si 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1880,  by 

B.  W.  BOND, 
in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


INTEODUOTOET  NOTE. 


The  author  of  this  vigorous  treatise  is  an  estimable  minis- 
ter of  the  Baltimore  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  South.  He  bears  the  honored  name  of  Beverly 
Waugh,  late  Bishop  in  the  M.  E.  Church — a  warm  and 
life-long  friend  of  the  Bond  connection,  in  Maryland,  to 
which  the  author  belongs.  It  may  well  be  supposed,  there- 
fore, that  he  was  steeped  in  Methodism  from  his  birth ;  and 
if  Methodism  is  "  Christianity  in  earnest,"  as  Dr.  Chalmers 
says,  an  earnest  defense  of  Christianity  may  be  expected  in 
this  work.     The  reader  will  not  be  disappointed. 

The  conception  of  the  book  originated  in  the  author's 
careful  perusal  and  study  of  the  best  works  on  the  Evi- 
dences of  Christianity — Paley,  of  course,  being  prominent. 
Encouraged  by  judicious  friends,  he  prosecuted  his  investi- 
gations, and  committed  his  views  to  writing,  until  they  were 
developed  into  a  well-proportioned  treatise  of  sufficient  size, 
and,  we  will  add,  of  due  importance,  to  justify  its  publica- 
tion. We  have  had  the  pleasure  and  profit  of  its  perusal 
as  it  has  been  passing  through  the  press,  and  we  hesitate 
not  to  say  it  is  an  excellent  resume  of  the  Evidences  of  Chris- 
tianity, as  presented  by  Paley,  Row,  and  other  apologists, 
embodying  much  fresh  original  matter  adapted  to  the  "per- 
ilous times  "  in  which  we  live.  Some,  perhaps,  may  think^ 
that  it  was  hardly  necessary  to  refute  for  the  thousandth 
time  the  argument  of  Hume  against  the  possibility  of  prov- 
ing a  miracle — as,  e.  g.,  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  on  which 
the  system  of  Christianity  is  based — especially  as  Hume 
virtually  acknowledged  its  worthlessness  to  Campbell,  who 
graveled  him,  as  he  says  he  "graveled  "  a  Jesuit  in  the  Jesuits' 

(3) 


4  Introductory  Note. 

College  of  La  FMche,  where  lie  used  his  argument  to  expose 
the  fiction  of  popish  miracles — "  perhaps  you  may  think,"  he 
writes  to  Campbell, "  the  sophistry  of  it  savors  plainly  of  the 
place  of  its  birth."  Indeed,  it  does!  But,  contemptible  as 
it  may  be  thought,  and  oft-refuted  as  it  has  been,  it  is  con- 
tinually paraded  by  unbelievers,  and  must  be  continuall  i 
exposed  by  those  who  are  set  for  the  defense  of  the  gospel. 

The  Reverend  Doctor  Abbott,  preaching  in  Oxford  Uni- 
versity, makes  a  fling  at  Paley's  Evidences  and  Horse  Paul- 
inse — and  with  good  reason — as,  following  in  the  wake  of 
Hume,  he  eliminates  every  thing  miraculous  from  the  Gos- 
pel History,  except  a  few  cases  of  healing,  which  he  would 
say  are  no  more  miracles  than  those  wrought  at  the  tomb 
of  the  Abbe  Paris — that  is,  they  were  the  effects  of  imag- 
ination, etc.,  and  not  supernatural  works  at  all. 

Truly,  it  behooves  us  to  contend  earnestly  for  the  faith, 
when  it  is  thus  assailed  in  the  foremost  Christian  university 
of  the  world ! 

Whatever  value  may  be  assigned  to  the  internal  evidences 
of  Christianity — and  there  is  much,  and  it  is  fully  admitted 
by  the  author  of  this  book — yet  he  has  done  a  good  work 
in  developing  from  the  present  advanced  position  of  the 
science  of  apologetics  the  historical  proofs  of  the  divine 
original  of  our  holy  religion,  demonstrating,  as  he  has  done 
in  this  treatise,  that  we  have  not  followed  cunningly-devised 
fables,  and  we  are  not  deceived,  nor  are  we  deceiving  others, 
when  we  affirm  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  is  not  of  men,  but 
is  from  heaven.  Every  believer  in  Christ  is  warranted  in 
exclaiming,  with  the  utmost  confidence — 

Hence,  and  forever,  from  my  heart 
I  bid  my  doubts  and  fears  depart ; 
And  to  those  hands  my  soul  resign, 
Which  bear  credentials  so  divine. 

Thos.  O.  Summers. 

Nashville,  Term.,  April  18,  1880. 


Contents. 

PART  FIRST. 

The  Competency  and  the  Credibility  of  the  Evidence. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

Necessity  of  Evidence — Plan  of  the  Work,    .       9 


CHAPTER  II. 
The  Possibility  of  Miracles, 13 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Competency  of  the  Evidence — I  The  Com- 
jpetency  of  Evidence  in  General  to  Prove 

Miracles, 29 

i 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Competency  of  the  Evidence — II  Prob- 
able Evidence  is  Sufficient  to  Prove  a  Rev- 
elation,     . 59 

(5) 


6  Contents. 

CHAPTER  V. 

PAGE 

The  Authenticity  of  the  Evidence,   ....     75 


PART  SECOND. 

The  Weight  of  the  Evidence — The  Superhuman  Facts. 


CHAPTER  I. 
The  Superhuman  Advent  of  Christ,      .     .     .111 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  Superhuman  Character  of  Christ,  .     .     .  128 

CHAPTER  III 

The  Superhuman  Teaching  of  Christ — I  Its 
Reasonableness, 143 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Superhuman  Teaching  of  Christ — II.  The 
Analogy  of  Nature — III.  Its  Superiority 
Both  to  Human  Reason  and  Nature,    .     .  162 

CHAPTER  V. 
The  Evidence  of  Prophecy, 194 


Contents.  7 

CHAPTER  VI. 

PAGE 

The  Evidence  of  Miracles — I.  In  General,    .  209 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Evidence  of  Miracles — II.  The  Resur- 
rection of  Christ, 231 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
The  Supernatural  Results, 254 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Weight  of  the  Evidence — Recapitulation 
and  Conclusion, 273 


The  Positive  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

PAET  FIRST. 
The  Competency  and  the  Credibility  of  the  Evidence. 


CHAPTER   I. 

NECESSITY  OF  EVIDENCE — PLAN  OF   THE  WORK. 

The  object  of  the  following  work  is  to  prove 
the  divinity  of  the  Christian  religion.  To  do 
this,  the  writer  will  endeavor  to  present  simply 
the  positive  evidences  that  exist  therefor,  and 
to  show  by  them  that  Christianity  manifests  a 
character  that  is  plainly  no  less  than  divine. 
Confining  the  discussion  strictly  to  this*  one 
particular,  all  examination  into  kindred  ques- 
tions, however  interesting  and  closely  related, 
should  be  omitted ;  but  in  the  determination 
of  the  subject  itself,  under  consideration,  no 
pains  ought  to  be  spared  to  examine  it  in  all 
its  parts,  and  to  apply  every  possible  test  to 
ascertain  the  truth.  Rather,  it  should  be  the 
grateful  duty  of  a  believer  to  strive  to  show 
how  the  Christian  religion,  in  every  possible 
1*  (9) 


10  Positive  Evidences.  [part  I. 

way. — as  well  in  the  great  facts  upon  which  it 
is  founded,  its  own  essential  nature,  its  attend- 
ant circumstances,  as  in  its  actual  results  upon 
the  characters  and  lives  of  men — exhibits  such 
supereminent  characteristics  as  prove  it  to  be 
divine. 

In  this  effort,  however,  no  attempt  should  be 
made  to  appeal  to  any  other  principles  than 
those  that  usually  determine  the  decisions  of 
men.  Christianity  does  not,  and  cannot,  claim 
any  exemption  from  the  application  of  the  ordi- 
nary tests  that  are  used  to  ascertain  the  truth  of 
things.  In  matters  of  religion,  no  more  than  in 
any  other  human  affairs,  is  it  to  be  allowed  that 
questions  shall  be  decided  by  partiality,  preju- 
dice, or  passion ;  but  only  upon  a  fair  consid- 
eration, conducted  according  to  the  principles 
which  are  universally  acknowledged  to  consti- 
tute the  proper  test  of  truth.  Only  by  proving 
her  claims  can  Religion  have  any  authority 
over  us,  or  be  entitled  to  our  reverence.  To 
her  evidences,  then,  must  she  first  appeal ;  and 
in  so  doing,  it  is  manifest,  she  must  submit  to 
be  tried  by  the  ordinary  principles  of  evidence. 
Now,  those  principles  are  most  distinctly  and 
familiarly  asserted  and  applied  in  the  deter- 
mination of  trials  before  our  ordinary  courts 
of  law.  As  used  there,  they  have  long  been 
known  and  acknowledged  as  the  settled  max- 


Ch.  l.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  11 

ims  which  the  wisdom  and  experience  of  ages 
have  agreed  to  be  the  just  criterion  of  truth. 
To  them,  accordingly,  we  shall  appeal ;  and, 
fearing  nothing  for  Christianity  in  their  ap- 
plication to  her  evidences,  ask  only  that  the 
reader  will  consent  also  to  abide  by  their  de- 
cision, and  acquiesce  in  its  result. 

The  following  pages,  therefore,  will  discuss 
the  Christian  Evidences  in  an  order  modeled 
upon  that  which  is  constantly  followed  in  our 
legal  tribunals.  There  the  examination  of  the 
evidence  presented  consists  of  two  main  parts ; 
and  the  inquiry  is  made  —  first,  whether  the 
testimony  offered  is  actual  testimony  in  the 
case  under  consideration — that  is,  whether  it 
has  any  material  bearing  upon  the  case,  and 
whether  it  is  true ;  and,  secondly,  being  mate- 
rial and  true,  what  is  its  weight?  Accord- 
ingly, such  is  the  order  followed  here.  The 
work  is  therefore  divided  into  two  Parts.  The 
Second  Part  discusses — The  Weight  of  the  Ev- 
idence in  favor  of  the  Divinity  of  Christianity, 
and  presents  in  its  proof:  (a)  The  Superhu- 
man Facts  upon  which  Christianity  is  founded, 
as  displayed  in — 1.  The  Advent  of  Christ;  2. 
The  Character  of  Christ ;  3.  His  Teachings ; 
4.  His  Prophecies ;  5.  His  Miracles,  (b)  Its 
Superhuman  Results,  in  the  changes  it  has 
wrought  in  the  characters  and  lives  of  men, 


12  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

and  in  its  wonderful  growth,  (c)  The  Com- 
bined Weight  of  these  several  testimonies  to 
the  one  fact  of  the  Divinity  of  Christianity. 

Previous  to  this,  however,  we  must  show 
that  the  evidence  thus  adduced  is — first,  such 
as  is  proper  to  be  brought  forward  in  support 
of  such  a  position ;  and,  secondly,  that,  being 
in  its  nature  proper  to  be  adduced,  it  is  also 
true.  Part  First,  then,  will  be  occupied  with 
the  discussion  of  the  admissibility  and  genu- 
ineness of  the  evidence. 

At  the  outset  we  are  met  with  the  objection 
that  no  testimony  can  be  allowed  to  prove  the 
supernatural,  inasmuch  as  the  occurrence  in 
this  world  of  any  thing  that  is  supernatural, 
or  miraculous,  is  impossible  in  itself,  and  ab- 
surd. A  farther  objection  is  also  made,  that, 
even  if  it  were  possible,  no  testimony  is  com- 
petent to  establish  the  miraculous,  since  our 
experience  of  nature  is  that  it  is  always  the 
same,  while  that  of  testimony  is  that  it  is 
sometimes  false.  We  must,  then,  consider, 
first,  the  possibility  of  miracles  ;  then  will  fol- 
low the  discussion  of  the  competency  of  evi- 
dence to  prove  them ;  and  next,  the  authentic- 
ity of  the  evidence  actually  adduced,  and  its 
sufficiency  to  command  our  belief  in  the  actual 
occurrence  of  the  facts  -asserted  by  it. 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  13 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE    POSSIBILITY   OF    MIRACLES. 

At  the  outset  we  are  called  upon  to  show  that 
miracles  are  possible.  The  objection  is  urged 
against  the  divinity  of  Christianity  that  all 
evidence  whatsoever  is  incompetent  to  estab- 
lish such  a  claim,  inasmuch  as  it  necessarily 
involves  the  occurrence  of  the  miraculous,  and 
the  miraculous  is  impossible,  because  the  laws 
of  nature  never  vary,  and  cannot  be  broken. 
It  is  said  that  all  things  earthly  are  linked 
together  in  one  chain  of  physical  causes  and 
effects,  in  which  there  are  no  "breaks,"  no 
"rents,"  but  in  which  each  successive  being  or 
event  has  been  regularly  produced  by  the  pre- 
ceding being  or  event,  through  the  operation 
of  natural  laws,  and  natural  laws  only,  and 
that  thus  there  is  no  room  left  for  miracles. 
It  is  farther  claimed  that  there  exist  no  ener- 
gies or  forces  except  physical  energies  and 
forces,  and  that  "matter"  and  "force"  are 
the  only  primary  and  essential  agencies  in  the 
world,  and  the  sources  of  all  the  forms  of  be- 
ing. And  it  is  moreover  urged  that  a  miracle 
would  be  an  interference  with,  and  disturbance 


14  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

of,  the  settled  order  of  the  world,  and  a  sus- 
pension, breaking,  or  abrogation  of  the  laws 
of  nature ;  and  that  thus,  admitting  even  the 
existence  of  a  God,  who  is  the  Author  and 
Ruler  of  nature,  he  would  be,  by  miracle,  de- 
parting from  his  settled  plan  of  procedure,  in 
a  singular  and  inexplicable  way ;  that  thus  he 
would  be  frustrating  his  own  laws ;  and  final- 
ly, that  thus  he  would  show  either  that  his 
original  plans  and  laws  were  defective  and  in- 
sufficient for  all  his  purposes,  or,  that  being 
sufficient,  they  have  been  capriciously,  and 
without  adequate  reason,  violated  by  himself, 
and  that  in  either  case  he  is  presented  in  an 
unworthy  aspect. 

1.  In  answering  these  objections  against  the 
possibility  of  miracles,  let  us  first  notice  that 
we  must  expect,  in  any  express  and  immediate 
revelation  of  God's  will,  something  of  the  mi- 
raculous. Such  a  revelation  in  itself  is,  of 
necessity,  miraculous;  for  nowhere  in  nature 
does  God  speak  immediately  to  man.  The 
very  term,  revelation,  indicates  the  declaration 
of  something  unknown  by  nature — something- 
made  known  supernaturally,  or  miraculously. 
That  Christianity,  therefore,  which  claims  to 
be  a  revelation  from  God,  should  have  some- 
thing of  the  miraculous  is  what  we  ought  to 
expect;  and  the  fact  is  not  therefore  a  priori, 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  15 

and  abstractly,  an  objection  to  the  reasonable- 
ness of  Christianity,  but  the  contrary.  We 
must  demand  of  any  system  that  professes  to 
be  by  direct  revelation  from  God,  that  it  be 
miraculous.  Christianity  without  it  would  be 
unreasonable,  and  entitled  to  no  credit,  as  such 
a  revelation. 

Moreover,  we  must  remember  that  these 
objections,  if  valid,  destroy  all  hope  of  any 
revealed  religion  whatever.  If  there  can  be 
no  miracle,  then  there  can  be  no  direct  revela- 
tion from  God ;  and  so  man  never  has  had,  and 
never  can  have,  any  sure  hope  set  before  him. 
All  are  like  the  heathen — left  merely  to  the 
dim  light  of  nature  and  the  doubtful  deduc- 
tion of  reason;  and  there  never  can  be  any 
sufficient  light  and  satisfactory  assurance,  any 
clear  hope.  It  is,  then,  not  in  the  interests 
of  Christianity  only  that  it  is  necessar}r  to  es- 
tablish the  possibility  of  miracles,  but  also  in 
those  of  all  revealed  religion  whatsoever. 

Against  such  objections  stands  the  general 
belief  of  mankind,  in  all  ages,  that  miracles 
are  possible.  That  such  is  the  common  belief 
of  men,  appears  undeniably  from  universal 
history.  No  people  in  any  age  have  been  with- 
out faith  in  a  supernatural  Power,  as  well  as 
in  the  ability  of  that  Power  to  manifest  him- 
self supernatural! y  to  men.     To  men  general- 


16  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

ly,  it  has  seemed,  as  to  Rothe,  quoted  by  Van 
Oosterzee  (Dogmatics,  etc.),  that  since  "God 
has  subjected  to  man  the  powers  of  nature,  he 
never  could  have  subjected  to  them  himself — 
his  freedom,  his  almighty  will — and  so  place 
in  them  a  barrier  to  his  own  free  working." 
To  the  common  judgment  of  mankind,  then, 
the  idea  has  nothing  absurd  in  it,  but  is 
thought  to  be  agreeable  with  true  reason. 
This  is  certainly  a  presumption  in  its  favor. 
Any  opinion  in  which  we  find  the  voices  of 
the  whole  human  race,  of  all  ages,  uniting,  is 
surely  entitled  to  great  weight,  if  not  to  be 
justly  regarded  as  the  expression  of  the  most 
certain  conclusions  attainable  by  human  rea- 
son. 

In  reply,  it  may  be  urged  that  this  opinion 
of  the  mass  of  mankind  is  denied  by  some 
men  of  great  powers  of  mind  and  attainments, 
on  the  authority  of  science,  and  that  therefore 
such  a  belief  cannot  be  true.  To  this  we  re- 
ply: First,  we  should  remember  that  scien- 
tific men,  however  deservedly  respected,  are 
not  to  be  regarded  as  infallible.  They  have 
made  many  mistakes,  and  have  changed,  and 
changed  again,  many  of  their  theories  and  de- 
ductions, within  the  memory  of  even  one  gen- 
eration. The  French  Academy,  one  of  the 
leading  bodies  of  scientific  men  in  the  world, 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  17 

rejected,  at  various  times,  in  the  name  of  sci- 
ence (vide  Christlieb's  "Modern  Doubts,"  etc.), 
(1)  the  use  of  quinine;  (2)  vaccination;  (3) 
lightning-conductors ;  (4)  the  existence  of  me- 
teors ;  (5)  the  steam-engine.  Scientific  men 
are  yet  fallible  in  their  deductions  as  to  what 
is  and  what  is  not  possible.  They  are,  also, 
like  other  men — liable  to  be  moved  by  preju- 
dice and  passion,  and  are  certainly  capable, 
through  their  very  hostility  to  Christianity, 
whenever  they  have  such  a  hostility,  of  arriv- 
ing at  wrong  conclusions  respecting  matters 
affecting  our  religion.  But,  secondly,  miracles 
are  not  thus  denied  by  all  scientific  men,  nor 
by  many  of  the  greatest,  but,  on  the  contrary — 
as  we  shall  see  from  extracts  subsequently 
quoted — are  asserted  by  them  to  have  occurred, 
as  shown  by  the  inevitable  deductions  of  sci- 
ence itself.  The  settled  conclusions  of  science, 
then,  cannot  be  said  to  oppose  this  universal 
conviction  of  mankind ;  nay,  her  teachings  are 
claimed  to  be  in  harmony  therewith.  At  most, 
her  expounders  are  divided — at  best,  they  are 
not  infallible ;  and  therefore  the  presumption 
in  favor  of  miracles,  arising  from  the  general 
consent  of  men,  remains  unimpaired,  to  add  its 
force  to  our  argument. 

2.  But  to  reply  more  directly  to  those  ob- 
jections, it  is  denied  that  miracles  are  so  out 


18  Positive  Evidences.  [part  I. 

of  harmony  with  the  laws  of  nature.  Nature 
is  not  a  system  consisting  of  the  working  of 
laws  admitting  of  no  exception  and  no  interfer- 
ence, nor  is  it  of  an  uninterrupted  chain  of 
physical  causes  and  effects.  On  the  contrary, 
there  are  exceptions  and  interferences,  and 
there  are  "rents"  and  "  breaks"  where  no 
preceding  merely  physical  cause  can  be  shown, 
or  even  conceived,  and  where  therefore  we 
must  conclude  that  there  has  been  a  super- 
natural interference — where  we  can  only  say, 
'"  This  is  the  finger  of  God."     For, 

(1)  The  laws  of  nature — understanding  that 
phrase  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  commonly 
employed — are  not  invariable  and  without  ex- 
ception. The  fact  that  water  becomes  lighter 
when  frozen,  in  contradiction  to  the  general 
law  that  liquids  become  heavier  when  frozen, 
proves  there  may  be  exceptions  to  general 
laws,  and  such  as  are  caused  only,  so  far  as 
we  can  see,  by  the  supreme  will  of  the  Creator. 
We  know  from  this  that  God  has  not  chosen 
to  govern  the  world  by  one  uniform  and  in- 
variable law  only.  And,  if  so,  it  is  no  more 
unreasonable  to  conclude  that  he  would  make 
exceptions  to  such  laws  for  the  spiritual  and 
eternal  welfare  of  men  by  miracles,  than  he 
would  do  so  for  their  temporary  and  bodily 
welfare,  by  causing  water  to  become  lighter 


or 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  19 

when  frozen.  And  if  he  saw  fit,  and  was  able 
to  make  such  an  exception  permanently  for 
all  time,  in  the  case  of  some  particular  sub- 
stance,  as  water,  he  could  do  so  also  in  ordain- 
ing that  such  exceptions  should  likewise  hap- 
pen, as  to  all  substances,  at  some  particular 
time — as  e.  #.,  the  giving  of  a  revelation. 

Moreover,  it  is  not  true  that  the  laws  of 
nature  are  not  interfered  with.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  lower  set  of  laws  is  continually  in- 
terfered with  by  the  higher — the  mechanical 
by  the  chemical,  and  the  chemical  by  the  vital. 
Thus,  the  force  of  gravitation  is  daily  over- 
come by  the  force  of  the  rising  plant,  the- 
chemical  dissolution  of  the  body  by  the  pow- 
ers of  life,  etc.  The  heavy  iron  is  lifted  by 
the  magnet — why  may  not  all  nature  and  man 
himself,  in  the  presence  of  God,  yield  to  the 
superior  force  of  spiritual  power  when  exerted 
upon  them?  Surely  nature  herself  every- 
where teaches  the  subordination,  for  beneficent 
ends,  of  the  lower  laws  to  the  higher;  and 
surely  this,  itself  a  higher  law  of  nature,  al- 
lows the  possibility  at  least  of  the  subordina- 
tion of  all  nature  in  miracles,  for  the  highest 
interests — the  spiritual  and  eternal  welfare — 
of  men.  At  any  rate,  it  is  certain  that  we  find 
that  some  laws  of  nature  are  continually  in- 
terfered with  and  overcome.     Miracles,  then, 


20  Positive  Evidences.  [part  i. 

bring  no  unheard-of  disorder  into  nature. 
True,  in  miracles,  the  manner  of  their  inter- 
ference may  be  unknown,  or  be  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  that  seen  in  nature ;  but  the  mere 
manner  in  which  a  thing  is  done  cannot  afford 
a  solid  ground  of  objection  against  the  pos- 
sibility of  the  thing  being  done.  The  fact 
remains  that  the  laws  of  nature  may  be  inter- 
fered with  and  overcome  even  by  human  pow- 
er— it  is  for  the  objector  to  show  why  they  may 
not  also  be  interfered  with  and  overcome  by 
power  that  is  divine.* 

(2)  There  does  not  exist  an  uninterrupted 
chain  of  physical  causes  and  effects.  There 
are  "  rents"  and  "  breaks,"  and  therefore  there 
is  reason  to  conclude  that  there  has  been  su- 
pernatural interference  in  nature.  From  the 
"  Unseen  Universe,"  p.  247,  a  work  by  Profs. 
Stewart  and  Tait,  of  England,  physicists  of 

*  The  absurd  unreasonableness  of  the  objection  against 
miracles  is  well  illustrated  by  an  incident  that  came  under 
the  writer's  notice.  A  young,  new-fledged  son  of  iEscula- 
pius,  who  had  imbibed  skeptical  notions,  and  had  read 
Tyndall's  prayer-test  arguments,  was  declaiming  with  evi- 
dent great  self-satisfaction  against  the  absurdity  of  pray- 
ing for  rain,  etc.  "Science  has  demonstrated,"  said  he, 
"  that  the  falling  of  rain  depends  on  atmospheric  changes 
alone.  How  then  can  prayer  bring  rain  ?  Give  me  a  few 
cannon,  and  Jwill  bring  it."  God  is  of  course  feebler  than 
a  scientist ! 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  21 

the  highest  authority,  we  take  the  following 
extract:  "Formidable  breaks  are  brought  be- 
fore us  by  science.  There  is,  to  begin  with, 
that  formidable  phenomenon,  the  production 
in  time  of  the  visible  universe.  Secondly,  there 
is  a  break  hardly  less  formidable,  the  original 
production  of  life ;  and  there  is,  thirdly,  that 
break,  recognized  by  Wallace  and  his  school 
of  natural  history,  which  seems  to  have  oc- 
curred at  the  first  production  of  man.  Greatly 
as  we  are  indebted  to  Darwin,  and  Huxley,  and 
those  who  have  prominently  advocated  the 
possibility  of  the  present  'system  of  things 
having  been  developed  by  forces  and  opera- 
tions which  we  see  before  us,  it  must  be  re- 
garded by  us,  and  we  think  it  is  regarded  by 
them,  as  a  defect  in  their  system,  that  these 
breaks  remain  unaccounted  for."  That  the 
physical  universe  must  have  thus  had  its  be- 
ginning in  time,  is  shown  also  by  such  other 
scientific  men  of  the  highest  authority  as  Sir 
William  Thompson  and  Clerk  Maxwell  (vide 
Tait's  Recent  Advances  in  Physical  Science); 
and  the  same  is  true  also  of  the  origin  of  phys- 
ical life,  and  of  the  appearance  of  man  on  the 
earth.  It  thus  appears  that  there  has  been 
no  such  uninterrupted  "chain"  of  physical 
causes  and  effects  as  is  alleged,  and  there  is 
therefore  no  argument  from  this  against  mira- 


22  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

cles  to  be  made  in  the  name  of  science.  Nay, 
in  thus  disclosing  to  us  these  "  breaks,"  science 
itself  teaches  us  that  there  have  been  miracles 
of  the  highest  order ;  and  instead  of  furnishing 
a  ground  for  rejecting  the  miraculous,  it  affirms 
its  existence,  and  even  its  necessity,  to  account 
for  the  world  and  its  phenomena. 

(3)  Nor  is  it  true  that  reason  forces  us  to 
conclude  that  there  are  only  physical  agencies 
at  work  in  the  world.  What  are  the  laws  of 
nature?  The  very  existence  of  law,  instead 
of  chaos,  throughout  the  physical  universe, 
proves  on  the  most  reasonable  supposition  the 
existence  of  an  all-pervading  and  all-govern- 
ing Intelligence.  In  the  smaller  affairs  of 
our  every-day  life — where  we  have  personal 
experience — we  regard  the  signs  of  order  and 
rule  as  the  certain  marks  of  a  controlling  mind. 
Must  we,  in  those  transcendent  matters  in 
which  we  have  no  experience,  come  to  a  di- 
rectly opposite  conclusion,  when  we  see  such 
signs  in  their  utmost  perfection?  And  what 
is  force,  or  energy  ?  The  scientists  themselves 
tell  us  that  it  is  distinct  from  matter.  All 
that  they  pretend  to  say  about  it  is,  that  it  is 
the  working,  powerful  agent  present  in  all 
changes  occurring  in  matter;  but  what  it  is  in 
itself  they  can  tell  nothing,  save  that  it  is  not 
matter.     But  if  it  is  not  matter,  can  it  be  any 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  23 

thing  else  than  something  that  is  immaterial 
and  spiritual  ?  And  may  it  not  consist  merely 
in  the  working  of  God's  will  on  matter  just 
as  our  will,  in  a  like  incomprehensible  way  to 
us,  works  upon  the  matter  of  our  bodies  ?  Some 
of  the  best  scientific  men  have  concluded  from 
the  facts  of  science  that  there  is  an  unseen  and 
spiritual  universe.  The  authors  mentioned 
above  in  their  remarkable  book,  "  The  Unseen 
Universe,"  elaborately  argue  its  necessary  ex- 
istence from  the  consideration,  among  others, 
of  the  scientific  "  Principle  of  Continuity," 
"  which,  since  this  visible  universe  must  come 
to  an  end,  demands  a  continuance  of  the  uni- 
verse still ;  and  thus  we  are  forced  to  believe 
that  there  is  something  beyond  that  which  is 
visible  "  (p.  94).  And  to  the  same  conclusion 
they  quote  as  follows :  "  The  deservedly  fa- 
mous Dr.  Thomas  Young  has  the  following- 
passage  in  his  lectures  on  natural  philosophy : 
'Besides  this  porosity,  there  is  still  room  for 
the  supposition  that  even  the  ultimate  parti- 
cles of  matter  may  be  permeable  to  the  causes 
of  attractions  of  various  kinds,  especially  if 
those  causes  are  immaterial ;  nor  is  there  any 
thing  in  the  unprejudiced  study  of  physical 
philosophy  that  can  induce  us  to  doubt  the 
existence  of  immaterial  substances  —  on  the 
contrary,  we  see  analogies  that  lead  us  almost 


24  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

directly  to  such  an  opinion.  The  electrical 
fluid  is  supposed  to  be  essentially  different 
from  common  matter ;  the  general  medium  of 
light  and  heat,  according  to  some,  or  the  prin- 
ciple of  calorics,  according  to  others,  is  equally 
distinct  from  it.  We  see  forms  of  matter,  dif- 
fering in  subtilty  and  mobility,  under  the  name 
of  solids,  liquids,  and  gases",  above  these  are 
the  semi-material  existences,  which  produce 
the  phenomena  of  electricity  and  magnetism, 
and  either  caloric  or  a  universal  ether.  Higher 
still,  perhaps,  are  the  causes  of  gravitation 
and  the  immediate  agents  in  attractions  of  all 
kinds,  which  exhibit  some  phenomena  appar- 
ently still  more  remote  from  all  that  is  com- 
patible with  material  bodies.  And  of  these 
different  orders  of  beings  the  more  refined  and 
immaterial  appear  to  pervade  freely  the  gross- 
er. It  seems  therefore  natural  to  believe  that 
the  analogy  may  be  continued  still  farther, 
until  it  rises  into  existences  absolutely  imma- 
terial and  spiritual.  We  know  not  but  that 
thousands  of  spiritual  worlds  may  exist  un- 
seen forever  by  human  eyes ;  nor  have  we  any 
reason  to  suppose  that  even  the  presence  of 
matter,  in  a  given  spot,  necessarily  excludes 
these  existences  from  it "'  (p.  201).  And  again, 
from  Prof.  Stokes :  " Admitting  to  the  full  as 
highly  probable,   though  not  completely  de- 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  25 

monstratecl,  the  applicability  to  living  beings 
of  the  laws  which  have  been  ascertained  with 
reference  to  dead  matter,  I  feel  constrained  at 
the  same  time  to  admit  the  existence  of  a 
mysterious  something  lying  beyond,  a  something 
mi  generis,  which  I  regard,  not  as  balancing 
and  suspending  the  ordinary  physical  laws, 
but  as  working  with  them,  and  through  them, 
to  the  attainment  of  a  desired  end.  What  this 
something,  which  we  call  life,  may  be,  is  a  pro- 
found mystery.  .  .  .  When  from  the  phe- 
nomena of  life  we  pass  on  to  those  of  mind, 
we  enter  a  region  still  more  mysterious.  We 
can  readily  imagine  that  we  may  here  be  deal- 
ing with  phenomena  altogether  transcending 
those  of  mere  life,  in  some  such  way  as  those 
of  life  transcend,  as  I  have  endeavored  to  in- 
fer, those  of  chemistry  and  molecular  attrac- 
tions, or  as  the  laws  of  chemical  affinity  in 
their  turn  transcend  those  of  mere  mechanics. 
Science  can  be  expected  to  do  but  little  to  aid 
us  here,  since  the  instrument  of  research  is 
itself  the  object  of  investigation.  It  can  but 
enlighten  us  as  to  the  depths  of  our  ignorance, 
and  lead  us  to  look  to  a  higher  aid  for  that 
which  most  nearly  concerns  our  well-being" 
(p.  235).  And  the  authors  themselves  of  u  The 
Unseen  Universe,"  after  an  independent  and 
extended  discussion  of  the  matter,  say,  page 
2 


26  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

221:  "Let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  and  con- 
sider the  position  into  which  science  has 
brought  us.  We  are  led  by  scientific  logic 
to  an  unseen,  and  by  scientific  analogy  to  the 
spirituality  of  this  unseen.  In  fine,  our  con- 
clusion is  that  the  visible  universe  has  been 
developed  by  an  intelligence  resident  in  the 


unseen." 


(4)  Farther,  these  facts  show  that  miracles 
are  not  in  disharmony  with  the  history  and 
constitution  of  nature,  nor  destructive  of  its 
order.  Adopting  again  the  language  of  the 
authors  quoted  above  (page  21),  in  reference 
to  the  existence  of  those  "breaks"  which  un- 
deniably appear  in  nature,  we  may  say :  "If 
this  be  true,  the  discussion  regarding  miracles 
must  be  removed  altogether  from  the  domain 
of  science,  and  this  for  the  very  good  reason 
that  scientific  logic  admits  the  occurrence  of 
events  at  least  as  astounding.  The  question 
is  now  rather  one  for  the  historian  and  the 
moral  philosopher  to  decide."  Nay,  we  may 
claim  that  miracles  are  in  analogy  with  some 
of  the  ordinary  workings  of  nature.  For,  first, 
science  leads  us  to  conclude  that  the  ordinary 
laws  of  nature  are  the  exertions  of  an  unseen 
and  spiritual  power,  and  miracles  are  nothing 
more ;  but,  next,  we  cannot  say  that  the  laws  of 
nature  are  broken,  or  abrogated,  by  miracles,  but 


Ch.  2.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  27 

only  that  they  have  been  superseded  by  the 
coming  in  at  a  certain  point  of  a  superior  cause, 
working  not  hostilely  but  superior  to  them,  just 
as  the  law  of  gravitation  is  superseded — not 
broken,  or  abrogated — by  me,  a  higher  cause, 
when  I  lift  a  stone  from  the  ground.  In  fact, 
the  law,  in  such  cases,  continues  to  operate  all 
the  time ;  it  is  only  overcome  by  the  superior 
power  present.  Or  else,  if  this  be  abrogation, 
then  are  the  laws  of  nature  being  broken  and 
abrogated  every  hour,  and  are  not  invariable ; 
and  consequently  there  can  be  no  objection  to 
miracles  on  that  ground. 

(5)  Miracles,  therefore,  cause  no  destruction 
of  the  forces  and  laws  of  nature.  Rather,  in- 
tended, as  they  were  in  Christianity,  for  res- 
toration, healing,  and  the  bringing  in  again 
of  real  order  and  harmony,  both  physical  and 
moral,  to  a  world  already  disturbed  by  sin, 
they  work  toward  the  reestablishment  of  the 
laws  and  forces  of  the  real,  original  nature, 
and  tend  to  secure  her  primal  symmetry  and 
strength. 

(6)  Finally,  they  do  not  necessarily  suppose 
any  defect  in  the  original  plans  of  God,  to  sup- 
ply which  defect  they  were  afterward  wrought. 
For  we  have  no  ground  to  assume  that  they 
did  not  form  a  part  of  his  original  plan,  and 
were  not  intended  from  the  first  to  be  wrought 


28  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

as  occasion  demanded.  Rather  the  contrary. 
They  were  necessary  in  his  original  creations, 
in  the  beginning  of  the  world,  of  physical  life, 
and  of  man;  they  are  equally  necessary,  as 
we  have  seen,  whenever  a  revelation  is  to  be 
given ;  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  infer  that 
while  their  very  character  as  miraculous  pre- 
cludes them  from  ever  being  common  occur- 
rences, they  may  be,  nevertheless,  if  indeed 
they  must  not  be,  God's  regular  and  ordinary 
method  of  working  in  the  world  on  such  extra- 
ordinary occasions. 

We  claim,  then,  that  there  appears  in  nature 
no  physical  or  moral  reason  from  which  to  con- 
clude the  impossibility  of  miracles ;  and  since 
there  is  also  no  violence  done  by  them  to  the 
divine  attributes  of  truth,  wisdom,  and  love, 
but,  as  we  shall  hereafter  see,  they  are  indeed 
most  strongly  prompted  by  all  those  infinite 
characteristics  of  his,  we  conclude  that  mira- 
cles are  possible  with  God,  and  that  therefore 
a  revelation  may  be  given  of  his  will. 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  29 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  COMPETENCY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE  —  I.  THE 
COMPETENCY  OF  EVIDENCE  IN  GENERAL  TO 
PROVE  MIRACLES. 

Allowing,  then,  the  possibility  of  miracles, 
our  next  inquiry,  in  the  consideration  of  the 
Admissibility  of  the  Evidence,  must  be  wheth- 
er the  character  of  the  evidence  presented  is  in 
itself  such  as  that  it  may  be  admitted  to  prove 
them.  This  will  constitute  our  examination 
into  the  Competency  of  the  Evidence,  and  will 
divide  itself  into  two  branches — viz. :  I.  The 
Competency  of  Evidence  in  General  to  Prove 
Miracles.  II.  The  Sufficiency  of  Probable 
Evidence  to  Prove  them.  In  the  present 
chapter  we  will  consider  the  first  of  these  two 
subjects. 

Christianity,  indeed,  alone  of  all  religious  sys- 
tems, offers  a  recognized  body  of  proof  in  sup- 
port of  its  claims.  None  other,  whether  of  the 
ancient  mythologies  or  the  Mohammedanism, 
Buddhism,  etc.,  of  the  modern  heathen,  has 
ever  even  pretended  to  any  evidence  of  its  claims 
to  be  a  supernatural  communication  of  divine 
truth.    No  such  body  of  proof  as  the  Buddhist 


30         •  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

Evidences,  the  Mohammedan  Evidences,  has 
ever  been  known  to  literature.  But  Christian- 
ity has  always  possessed  and  offered  such  an  ar- 
ray of  proof;  so  that  the  phrase,  "The  Christian 
Evidences,"  has  become  a  term  understood  and 
familiar  to  all.  Indee'd,  Christianity  has  been 
able  to  make  all  her  advances  only  through 
those  evidences.  Renouncing  alike  the  power 
of  the  sword  and  all  appeals  to  passion  or  to 
prejudice ;  teaching,  on  the  contrary,  as  one  of 
her  cardinal  principles,  the  utmost  self-sacri- 
fice and  renunciation  of  the  world,  she  has  con- 
stantly appealed,  from  the  beginning,  to  her 
evidences,  and  sought  to  convince  the  reason 
of  men.  It  was  thus  that  she  won  her  way — 
first,  among  the  Jews ;  then  gained,  through 
three  hundred  years  of  persecution,  gradual 
acceptance  by  the  cultivated  pagans  of  Greece 
and  Rome ;  and  with  her  evidences  she  next 
met  and  conquered  the  rude  and  savage  bar- 
barians, the  conquerors  of  Rome.  By  them 
she  has  hitherto  come  off  victorious  from  all 
the  assaults  of  skepticism  at  home ;  by  them 
she  has  destroyed,  or  is  destroying,  every  op- 
posing system,  however  gigantic,  and  is  daily 
making  fresh  advances  against  the  ancient  and 
mighty  systems  of  India  and  China.  The  his- 
tory of  the  continual  exhibition  of  those  evi- 
dences is  the  record  of  her  continual  triumphs. 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  31 

Subjected  during  a  period  of  nearly  nineteen 
hundred  years,  in  the  most  enlightened  na- 
tions and  ages  of  the  world,  to  the  most  varied 
and  searching  criticism,  they  still  remain,  not 
only  undiminished,  but  immensely  enlarged 
and  strengthened,  as  each  successive  age  has 
added,  by  its  investigations  of  her  proofs,  and 
by  its  own  test  of  her  merits,  fresh  witness  to 
her  truth. 

This  singular  exception  and  superiority  of 
Christianity  to  all  other  religious  systems 
seems  of  itself  worthy,  at  once,  to  separate  it 
from  all  others,  and  raise  it  above  them  all  in 
the  estimation  of  a  candid  and  reflecting  mind. 
Nay,  it  is  not  too  much  to  claim  that  of  itself 
it  raises  a  presumption  in  favor  of  the  divin- 
ity of  Christianity ;  for  were  it  in  the  power 
of  human  capacity  to  forge  any  such  well-con- 
nected and  elaborate  evidences,  it  is  reasona- 
ble to  believe  that  at  least  one  of  the  many 
founders  of  false  systems,  intellectual  as  they 
undoubtedly  were,  would  have  done  so.  That 
not  one  of  them  has,  or  that,  having  done  so, 
the  forged  evidences  have  all  been  so  weak  as 
to  have  sunk  into  total  oblivion,  is  a  presump- 
tion, at  least,  that  human  capacity  is  not  equal 
to  the  forgery  of  so  elaborate,  so  complete,  and 
so  valid,  a  body  of  evidences  as  that  which 
Christianity  possesses.     But  if  they  have  not 


32  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

been  forged,  they  are  genuine,  and  Christian- 
ity is  true  and  divine. 

The  objection,  however,  is  urged  against  the 
truth  and  divinity  of  Christianity,  that  all  evi- 
dence whatsoever  is  incompetent  to  establish 
its  claims.  .It  might  be  supposed  that  it  would 
not  have  been  disputed  by  any  one  that  it  was 
capable,  somehow,  of  being  proved.  But  Chris- 
tianity has  been  made  to  meet  in  turn  every 
possible  criticism,  and  accordingly  it  has  been 
urged  against  her,  among  other  objections, 
that,  admitting  even  the  possibility  of  mira- 
cles, yet  no  human  testimony  was  sufficient  to 
prove  them,  or  to  establish  Christianity,  which 
necessarily  includes  miracles.  In  the  words 
of  Hume,  the  father  of  this  objection,  it  is 
asserted  that  "No  testimony  is  sufficient  to 
establish  a  miracle,  since  a  miracle  being  a 
violation  of  the  laws  of  nature,  which  a  firm 
and  unalterable  experience,  has  established, 
the  proof  against  a  miracle,  from  the  very 
nature  of  the  fact,  is- as  entire  as  any  argu- 
ment from  experience  can  be,  whereas  our  ex- 
perience of  human  veracity,  which  is  the  sole 
foundation  of  the  evidence  of  testimony,  is  far 
from  being  uniform,  and  can  therefore  never 
preponderate  against  that  exjoerience  which 
admits  of  no  exception."  In  refutation  of  this 
we  offer  the  following  considerations : 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  33 

1.  His  statement  of  the  facts  from  which  he 
draws  his  argument  is  wholly  incorrect.  1st. 
As  we  have  already  seen,  miracles  are  in  no 
sense  "violations  of  the  laws  of  nature,"  any 
more  than  is  every  interference  with  the  lower 
laws  by  higher  powers,  which  we  daily  see — as, 
e.  #.,  in  the  overcoming  by  our  wills  of  the  iner- 
tia of  our  bodies,  etc.  But  if  these  constitute 
"  violations  "  of  the  laws  of  nature,  then  are  we 
continually  beholding  them,  and  then  our  "ex- 
perience," instead  of  establishing  the  inviola- 
bility of  the  laws  of  nature,  in  reality  contin- 
ually establishes  the  opposite.  Then  if  the 
interference  of  a  higher  power  with  the  lower 
laws  of  nature  are  violations  of  those  laws,  no 
argument  drawn  from  our  experience  of  the 
inviolability  of  nature  can  be  brought  against 
miracles  ;  if  they  are  not  violations,  then  mira- 
cles, which  consist  essentially  in  such  interfer- 
ences, are  not  violations.  In  either  case,  the 
argument  against  them  falls  to  the  ground. 
2d.  Our  "experience"  of  the  "laws  of  nature" 
is  not  uniform  and  without  exception ;  for  that 
which  we  call  the  "laws  of  nature"  is  not  the 
limited  personal  knowledge  of  the  natural  phe- 
nomena around  him,  and  his  deductions  there- 
from, which  every  man  can  have,  or  that  any 
one  man  can  possibly  arrive  at,  but  our  ac- 
cepted deductions  from  the  collected  observa- 


34  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

tions  of  men  generally  as  to  all  the  phenom- 
ena of  nature  possible  to  be  made.  Nothing 
less  than  this  can  be  called  "the  laws  of  nat- 
ure/' It  follows  that  when  we  speak  of  the 
"experience"  of  those  laws  which  men  have, 
we  cannot  mean  merely  any  and  every  man's 
knowledge  of  them,  but  human  experience  in 
general,  and  that  too  of  the  phenomena  both  of 
changes  actually  occurring  under  the  observ- 
er's inspection,  and  of  those  things  that  now, 
remaining  unchanged,  yet  exhibit  the  marks 
of  past  changes ;  for  the  laws  of  nature  are  to 
be  deduced  as  well  from  those  changes  occur- 
ring in  the  past  as  from  those  occurring  in  the 
present.  Our  "  experience, ' '  then,  of  the  ' '  laws 
of  nature"  is  nothing  else  than  our  examina- 
tion of  all  the  marks  that  we  can  anywhere 
possibly  find,  by  ourselves  and  by  other  men, 
of  the  mode  of  operation  of  those  laws,  and  our 
comparison  of  those  marks  with  our  deductions 
as  to  those  laws.  If  we  find  that  those  marks, 
so  far  as  we  can  judge,  agree  with  those  deduc- 
tions, we  say  that  the  laws  of  nature  are  uni- 
form, and  the  contrary  if  they  are  not.  Now, 
we  have  seen  that  science,  which  is  but  the 
body  which  we  possess  of  the  accepted  deduc- 
tions of  the  laws  of  nature,  drawn  as  far  as 
possible  from  universal  "experience" — science 
itself  tells  us  that  there  are  "  breaks  "  in  nature 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  35 

where  there  must  have  been  miracles.  Our 
"experience"  then  of  nature  does  admit  of 
"exception"  to  her  laws,  and  therefore  no 
argument  against  miracles  can  be  drawn  from 
our  alleged  experience  of  their  unbroken  uni- 
formity. 3d.  But  if  this  view  of  what  we  must 
mean  by  our  "experience  "  of  the  laws  of  nat- 
ure be  incorrect,  and  we  must  limit  that  phrase 
to  signify  merely  our  individual  experience, 
then  it  is  not  correct  to  say,  in  regard  to  the 
miracles  narrated  in  the  Bible,  that  they  are 
contrary  to  our  experience.  For,  in  point  of 
fact,  our  experience  has  never  had  any  trial  of 
them  whatever,  and  can  pronounce  upon  them 
really  nothing,  either  favorable  or  unfavora- 
ble. As  Paley  says,  "The  narrative  of  a  fact 
can  be  contrary  to  experience  only  when  we  or 
others,  being  present  at  the  time  and  place, 
perceived  that  it  did  not  exist ;  i.  e.,  when  it 
is  contrary  to  our  own  or  some  one  else's  ex- 
perience of  the  particular  fact  alleged.,,  If 
then  we  are  to  understand  the  above  objection 
to  mean  that  those  miracles  are  contrary  to  our 
experience,  the  statement  is  plainly  incorrect. 
2.  The  facts  then,  supposed  to  support  this 
objection,  do  not  exist  as  stated  by  Hume,  and 
his  argument,  built  on  them,  cannot  be  main- 
tained. It  may,  however,  be  said  that  the  ob- 
jection still  holds,  inasmuch  as  our  experience 


36  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

of  the  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nature  teaches 
us  the  extreme  improbability  of  miracles,  and 
consequently  the  insufficiency  of  testimony  to 
support  them.  This  is  an  a  priori  objection, 
drawn,  not  from  our  experience,  for  we  have 
actually  no  experience  in  the  matter,  but  from 
our  ideas  of  what  is  and  what  is  not  improba- 
ble; and  from  those  ideas  it  receives  all  its 
weight.  But  what  may  be  improbable  under 
some,  and  ordinary,  circumstances,  may  become 
extremely  probable  under  other  and  extraordi- 
nary circumstances.  A  man  may  act  in  one 
manner  in  the  usual  circumstances  of  life,  but 
entirely  different  in  uncommon  occurrences. 
He  may  be  content  to  communicate  with  dis- 
tant friends,  in  common  times,  for  a  long  period, 
by  the  slower  and  ordinary  method  of  a  letter 
through  the  post ;  but  on  a  great  and  pressing- 
emergency,  there  may  be  reason  enough  for 
him  to  employ  the  extraordinary  means  of  a 
telegraphic  dispatch;  and,  then  again,  this 
having  accomplished  its  purpose,  he  may  re- 
lapse into  his  former  more  customary  mode  of 
communication.  So  God  may  ordinarily  com- 
municate with  man  only  by  means  of  the  works 
of  nature  around  us;  but  a  special  occasion, 
the  demands  of  which  the  ordinary  means  are 
insufficient  to  meet,  may  lead  him  to  commu- 
nicate with  us  for  a  time,  after  an  unusual  and 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  37 

extraordinary  manner.  It  will  be  sufficient, 
then,  to  overcome  this  a  priori,  or  antecedent, 
improbability  of  a  divine  revelation  drawn 
from  our  experience  of  the  uniformity  of  the 
laws  of  nature,  by  showing,  on  other  grounds, 
its  great  probability;  and  thereby,  since  mira- 
cles are  not  impossible,  and  since  it  is  a  gen- 
eral law  of  nature  that  the  lower  laws  of 
nature,  for  wise  and  beneficent  purposes,  should 
suffer  interference  by  higher  powers ;  and  since 
there  is,  for  such  purposes,  an  antecedent  proba- 
bility of  a  divine  revelation,  that  it  is  therefore 
a  priori  probable  that  the  usual  course  of  nature 
should  thus  be  interrupted,  and  miracles  occur. 

That  such  a  revelation  is  probable,  we  infer 
from  the  following  considerations : 

1.  The  common  opinion  of  men  has  judged 
it  to  be  necessary.  "That  so  many  founders 
of  religions  should  appeal  to  a  supernatural 
revelation  shows  that  nature  is  thought  insuf- 
ficient in  the  general  opinion  of  men,"  says 
Butler;  and  this  view  is  fully  proved  by  the 
acknowledgments  of  the  most  eminent  think- 
ers, skeptics  themselves  as  some  of  them  are, 
both  of  modern  and  of  ancient  times.  "  The 
ultimate  fruit  of  all  philosophy  is  the  observa- 
tion of  human  weakness  and  ignorance,"  says 
Hume.  "  The  net  results  of  natural  theology," 
asserts  Mill  (Three  Essays,  etc.),  "are  these: 


38  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

a  Being  of  great  but  limited  power,  how  or  by 
what  limited  we  cannot  even  conjecture,  of 
great  and  perhaps  unlimited  intelligence,  but 
perhaps  also  more  limited  than  his  power,  who 
desires  and  pays  some  regard  to  the  happiness 
of  his  creatures,  but  who  seems  to  have  other 
motives  of  action  which  he  cares  more  for." 
And  he  finds  also  but  little,  if  any,  hope  from 
the  same  source  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul. 
Such  confessions,  from  the  great  modern  leaders 
of  skeptical  thought,  are  surely  enough  to  show 
the  insufficiency  of  natural  reason  alone  to  give 
man  any  sure  foundation  for  his  hopes.  Surely 
a  revelation  is  needed  to  teach  men  the  truth.* 

*  "  I  would  disturb  no  man's  faith,"  says  Coleridge  ("Aids 
to  Keflection,"  p.  179),  "  in  the  great  articles  of  the  (falsely 
so  called)  religion  of  nature.  But  before  the  man  rejects, 
and  calls  on  other  men  to  reject,  the  revelations  of  the 
gospel  and  the  religion  of  Christendom,  I  would  have  him 
place  himself  in  the  state  and  under  all  the  privations  of 
a  Simonides,  when,  in  the  fortieth  day  of  his  meditations, 
the  sage  and  philosophic  poet  abandoned  the  problem  in 
despair,  only  to  seriously  consider  whether  a  doctrine  (i.  e., 
of  immortality),  of  the  truth  of  which  a  Socrates  could 
obtain  no  other  assurance  than  what  he  derived  from  his 
strong  wish  that  it  should  be  true,  and  which  Plato  found 
a  mystery  hard  to  discover,  and,  when  discovered,  commu- 
nicable only  to  the  fewest  of  men,  can,  consistently  with 
history  or  common  sense,  be  classed  among  the  articles,  the 
belief  of  which  is  insured  to  all  men  by  their  mere  com- 
mon sense." 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  39 

And  this  was  also  the  conclusion  of  the 
wisest  and  best  of  the  ancients.  "  Plato  be- 
gins his  discourse  concerning  the  gods  and  the 
generation  of  the  worlds,"  says  Home,  "with 
the  caution  'not  to  expect  any  thing  beyond  a 
likely  conjecture  concerning  these  things." 
Cicero,  with  all  his  vast  learning,  acuteness, 
and  industry,  found  that  he  was  unequal  to  the 
inquiry,  and  says:  "If  we  had  come  into  the 
world  in  such  circumstances  as  that  we  could 
clearly  and  distinctly  have  perceived  nature 
herself,  and  have  been  able  in  the  course  of  our 
lives  to  follow  her  true  and  incorruptible  direc- 
tions, this  alone  might  have  been  sufficient ;  but 
now  nature  has  given  us  only  some  small  sparks 
of  right  reason,  which  we  so  quickly  extinguish 
with  corrupt  opinions  and  evil  practices  that 
the  true  light  of  nature  nowhere  appears" 
(Tusc.  Quist.  3).  And  he  acknowledges  that 
"  all  these  things  are  involved  in  deep  dark- 
ness." And  again,  after  enumerating  the  vari- 
ous opinions  of  philosophers  as  to  the  immortal* 
ity  of  the  soul,  he  concludes  :  "  Which  of  these 
opinions  is  true  some  god  must  tell  us;  which  is 
most  like  truth  is  a  hard  question"  (Id.,  1). 
"We  deny  not,"  he  says  again,  "that  some- 
thing may  be  true,  but  we  deny  that  it  can  be 
perceived  so  to  be,  for  what  have  we  certain 
concerning  good  and  evil  ?     Nor  for  this  are 


40  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

we  to  be  blamed,  but  nature,  which  has  hidden 
the  truth  in  the  deep  "  (De.  Nat.  Deor.  Lib.  1, 
n.  10,  11,  and  Acad.  Qu.  Lib.  2,  n.  66,  120). 
JN"ow  Cicero,  living  as  he  did  after  the  great 
philosophers  of  Greece,  and  thoroughly  versed 
in  their  writings,  and  being  himself  a  man  of 
the  finest  powers  of  mind,  is  well  entitled  to 
represent  the  sum  total  of  the  results  of  those, 
the  highest,  exertions  of  the  human  intellect. 
Accordingly  Gibbon,  who  will  not  be  regarded 
as  being  misled  through  any  partiality  to  Chris- 
tianity, shows  from  his  writings  the  vanity  of 
the  speculations  of  philosophers  in  these  mat- 
ters of  such  profound  interest  and  concern  to 
men.  He  says:  "The  writings  of  Cicero  rep- 
resent in  the  most  lively  colors  the  ignorance, 
the  errors,  and  the  uncertainty  of  the  ancient 
philosophers  with  regard  to  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.  When  they  are  desirous  of  arm- 
ing their  disciples  against  the  fear  of  death, 
they  inculcate  as  an  obvious  though  melan- 
choly position,  that  the  fatal  stroke  of  our  dis- 
solution releases  us  from  the  calamities  of  life, 
and  that  those  can  no  longer  suffer  who  no 
longer  exist.  Yet  there  were  a  few  sages  of 
Greece  and  Rome  who  had  conceived  a  more 
exalted,  and,  in  some  respects,  a  juster  idea 
of  human  nature ;  though  it  must  be  confessed, 
that  in  the  sublime  inquiry,  their  reason  had 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  41 

often  been  guided  by  their  imagination,  and 
their  imagination  had  been  prompted  by  their 
vanity.  When  they  viewed  with  complacency 
the  extent  of  their  own  mental  powers,  .  .  . 
and  when  they  reflected  on  the  desire  of  fame 
which  transported  them  into  future  ages  far 
beyond  the  bounds  of  death  and  the  grave, 
they  were  unwilling  to  confound  themselves 
with  the  beasts  of  the  field,  or  to  suppose  that 
a  being,  for  whose  dignity  they  entertained  the 
most  sincere  admiration,  could  be  limited  to  a 
spot  of  earth  and  to  a  few  years  of  duration. 
With  this  favorable  prepossession,  they  sum- 
moned to  their  aid  the  science,  or  rather  the 
language,  of  metaphysics.  They  soon  discov- 
ered that  as  none  of  the  properties  of  matter 
will  apply  to  the  operations  of  the  mind,  the 
human  soul  must  consequently  be  a  substance 
distinct  from  the  body  —  pure,  simple,  and 
spiritual,  incapable  of  dissolution,  and  suscep- 
tible of  a  much  higher  degree  of  virtue  and 
happiness  after  the  release  from  its  corporeal 
prison.  From  these  specious  and  noble  prin- 
ciples the  philosophers  who  trod  in  the  foot- 
steps of  Plato  deduced  a  very  unjustifiable 
conclusion,  since  they  asserted  not  only  the 
future  immortality  but  the  past  eternity  of  the 
human  soul,  ...  a  doctrine  thus  removed 
beyond  the  senses  and  the  experience  of  man- 


42  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

kind  might  serve  to  amuse  the  leisure  of  a 
philosophic  mind;  or,  in  the  silence  of  soli- 
tude, it  might  sometimes  impart  a  ray  of 
comfort  to  desponding  virtue;  but  the  faint 
impression  which  had  been  received  in  the 
school  was  soon  obliterated  by  the  commerce 
and  business  of  active  life.  We  are  sufficient- 
ly acquainted  with  the  eminent  persons  who 
flourished  in  the  age  of  Cicero,  and  of  the  first 
Caesars,  with  their  actions,  their  characters, 
and  their  motives,  to  be  assured  that  their  con- 
duct in  this  life  was  never  regulated  by  any 
serious  conviction  of  the  rewards  or  punish- 
ments of  a  future  state.  At  the  bar,  and  in 
the  senate  of  Rome,  the  ablest  orators  were 
not  apprehensive  of  giving  offense  to  their 
hearers  by  exposing  that  doctrine  as  an  idle 
and  extravagant  opinion,  which  was  rejected 
with  contempt  by  every  man  of  a  liberal  edu- 
cation and  understanding. 

"  Since,  therefore,  the  most  sublime  efforts  of 
philosophy  can  extend  no  farther  than  feebly 
to  point  out  the  desire,  the  hope,  or,  at  most, 
the  probability,  of  a  future  state,  there  is  noth- 
ing except  a  divine  revelation  that  can  ascer- 
tain the  existence,  and  describe  the  condition, 
of  the  invisible  country  which  is  destined  to 
receive  the  souls  of  men  after  their  separation 
from  the  body." 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  43 

Thus  the  testimony  of  Gibbon  himself  is  in 
full  support  of  our  position.  No  words  of  ours 
could  add  to  the  force  of  this  conclusion  of  his, 
in  which  he  too  not  only  most  strongly  asserts 
the  utterly  vain  attempts  of  the  highest  human 
reason,  but  also  remarkably  declares,  as  the 
necessary  inference  therefrom,  the  absolute 
necessity  of  a  divine  revelation. 

2.  This  conclusion,  Home  shows  (Introduc- 
tion, etc.),  is  confirmed  by  the  darkness  and 
confusion  existing  in  general  among  men  as  to 
the  most  important  doctrines.  Plato  (vide  Lin- 
naeus), with  many  other  ancient  philosophers, 
held  the  eternity  of  matter,  and  Aristotle  the 
eternity  of  the  present  world,  both  in  matter 
and  form.  The  Magians  believed  that  there 
are  two  eternal  principles — the  one  good,  the 
other  evil.  Brahminism  denies  the  individu- 
ality of  the  human  soul,  as  also  many  of  the 
Greek  philosophers,  together  with  the  modern 
pantheists,  and  teaches  that  it  is  a  part  of  God, 
and  hence  that  all  it  does  is  right,  and  the 
greatest  crime  nothing  but  God's  act.  The 
immortality  of  the  soul  was  considered  very 
doubtful ;  transmigration  was  taught  by  some ; 
reabsorption  into  the  divine  essence  is  believed 
in  .by  Buddhists;  Pliny  says  "the  soul  and 
body  have  no  more  sense  after  death  than  be- 
fore we  were  born;"  Caesar:  "Beyond  death 


44  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

there  is  place  neither  for  care  nor  joy."  "  The 
Hindoos  believe  in  one  God — so  completely 
abstracted,  however,  in  his  own  essence  that 
in  this  state  he  is  emphatically  the  '  Unknown/ 
and  consequently  the  object  neither  of  hope 
nor  fear ;  he  is  even  destitute  of  intelligence, 
and  remains  in  a  state  of  profound  repose.  .  . 
To  him,  however,  the  Hindoos  erect  no  altars. 
The  objects  of  their  adoration  commence  with 
the  triad — Brahma,  Vishnu,  and  Siva — which 
represent  the  almighty  powers  of  Creation, 
Preservation,  and  Destruction.  As  to  the  prov- 
idence of  God,  the  Epicureans  held  that  'what 
was  blessed  and  immortal  gave  neither  any 
trouble  to  itself  nor  to  others ; '  Aristotle,  that 
God  resides  in  the  celestial  sphere,  and  ob- 
serves nothing,  and  cares  for  nothing,  beyond 
himself;  Plato,  that  'God,  fortune,  and  oppor- 
tunity, govern  all  the  affairs  of  men'  (De  Legg., 
book  4) ;  and  polytheism  allowed  one  god  to  be 
against  men  because  another  was  favorable  to 
them ;  farther,  the  Spartans,  by  law,  allowed 
adultery  in  certain  cases,  and  Plutarch,  in  his 
Life  of  Lycurgus,  commends  it.  Plato  says, 
f  He  may  lie  who  knows  how  to  do  it  in  a  fit 
season,'  and,  with  the  Stoics,  made  a  Jesuitical 
distinction  between  lying  with  the  lips  and  in 
the  mind ;  while  Menander  says,  'A  lie  is  better 
than  a  hurtful  truth.'" 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  45 

3.  This  need  of  a  divine  revelation  is  farther 
shown  by  the  corruptness  of  the  morals  which 
has  always  prevailed  wherever  the  Bible  has 
been  unknown,  and  the  utter  incapacity  of 
heathen  philosophy  or  religion  to  restrain  it. 
"Do  you  think,"  exclaims  Cicero,  speaking  of 
the  ancient  philosophers  and  their  teachings, 
"that  these  things  had  any  influence  upon  the 
men,  a  few  only  excepted,  who  thought,  and 
wrote,  and  disputed,  about  them?  Who  is 
there  of  all  the  philosophers  whose  mind,  life, 
and  manners,  were  conformable  to  right  rea- 
son ?  Who  ever  made  his  philosophy  the  law 
and  rule  of  his  life,  and  not  a  mere  show  of  his 
wit  and  parts?  Who  observed  his  own  in- 
structions, and  lived  in  obedience  to  his  own 
precepts  ?  *  On  the  contrary,  many  of  them 
were  slaves  to  filthy  lusts,  many  to  pride,  many 
to  covetousness"  (Tusc.  Quist.  2). 

But  not  only  was  this  the  case  as  to  the  phi- 
losophers of  Greece  and  Rome,  and  their  fol- 
lowers—  the  sad  helplessness  into  which  the 

*  Who,  indeed,  ever  did  but  Jesus  Christ  ?  The  whole  of 
this  is  a  most  important  witness  to  his  vast  superiority  to  all 
others  of  the  wisest  of  mankind.  He  taught  by  far  the  most 
sublime  standard  of  virtue,  and  yet  so  perfectly  exemplified 
it,  under  the  most  trying  circumstances,  in  his  character  and 
life,  that  not  one  of  his  many  enemies,  throughout  eighteen 
centuries,  has  ever  been  able  to  point  out  the  smallest  stain 
on  his  spotless  robe  of  righteousness. 


46  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

human  family  were  plunged  is  even  more  strik- 
ingly shown  by  the  effect  of  their  religious  sys- 
tems. "For  you  may  imagine,"  writes  Bacon 
("Essays  on  Unity  in  Religion"),  "what  kind 
of  faith  theirs  was,  when  the  chief  doctors  and 
fathers  of  their  Church  were  the  poets."  Ac- 
cordingly, as  Home  again  shows  (Intro.,  Yol. 
I.,  Ch.  1,  5),  in  all  the  heathen  world,  in  all 
ages,  there  have  prevailed  not  only  the  greatest 
uncertainty,  frequent  absurdities,  and  much  in- 
completeness, but  also,  in  every  system,  some- 
thing mean,  selfish,  or  sensual.  Among  the 
ancient  heathens  the  worship  of  one  God  was 
unknown.  There  were  deities  that  presided 
over  every  distinct  nation,  city,  town,  grove, 
river,  and  fountain.  Temples  and  fanes  were 
erected  to  all  the  passions,  diseases,  fears,  and 
evils,  to  which  mankind  were  subject.  Accord- 
ingly these  divinities  were  —  some  vindictive 
and  sanguinary;  others  jealous,  wrathful,  or 
deceitful;  most  unchaste,  adulterous,  and  in- 
cestuous. Thus  their  rites  were  often  absurd, 
licentious,  and  cruel.  Prostitution  was  system- 
atically annexed  to  various  pagan  temples,  and 
in  some  countries  was  even  made  compulsory 
upon  the  females ;  and  other  impurities  were 
solemnly  practiced  in  their  temples  and  in  pub- 
lic, at  the  very  thought  of  which  our  minds  re- 
volt.   Numbers  of  men  were  killed  in  the  bloody 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  47 

sports  instituted  in  honor  of  their  deities,  and 
human  sacrifices,  including  tender  infants,  were 
in  some  countries  offered  to  propitiate  them. 
"With  few  exceptions,  they  never  taught  the 
duty  of  loving  our  enemies  and  forgiving  inju- 
ries, but  that  revenge  was  lawful  and  commend- 
able. Suicide  was  regarded  as  the  strongest 
mark  of  heroism ;  theft  was  permitted  both  in 
Egypt  and  Sparta;  abortion  was  allowed  by 
Aristotle  in  certain  cases,  and  the  exposure  of 
infants  by  Plato.  Among  the  Romans,  masters 
might  put  their  slaves  to  death  at  pleasure ;  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor  and  destitute  no  provision 
was  made ;  common  swearing  was  committed 
by  their  best  moralists — as,  e.  #.,  Socrates,  Plato, 
and  Seneca;  and  the  unlawful  gratification  of 
the  sensual  appetites  was  openly  taught  and  al- 
lowed ;  and  even  in  those  particulars  in  which 
the  best  and  wisest  of  their  philosophers  did 
teach  good  principles,  they  were  forced  to  com- 
plain that  they  found  the  understandings  of 
men  so  dark  and  beclouded,  their  wills  so  bi- 
ased and  inclined  to  evil,  their  passions  so  out- 
rageous and  rebellious — in  short,  human  nat- 
ure so  strangely  corrupted  and  diseased  by 
some  cause  of  which  they  were  ignorant,  that 
they  could  not  effect  any  great  change  in  the 
characters  and  lives  of  any  considerable  num- 
ber of  men. 


48  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

If  we  turn  from  ancient  to  modern  heathen- 
dom, we  see  a  spectacle  no  less  melancholy. 
Among  savage  tribes  the  most  abject  idolatry, 
in  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  animals, 
serpents,  and  dumb  idols,  everywhere  prevail, 
as  also  sorcery  and  magic ;  while  polygamy, 
divorce,  and  infanticide,  together  with  the 
practice  of  the  grossest  vices,  are  universal. 
Among  the  most  enlightened  of  modern  hea- 
then nations  we  find  it  much  the  same.  In 
China  all  ranks,  from  the  emperor  downward, 
are  full  of  absurd  superstitions,  and  worship 
gods  celestial,  terrestrial,  and  subterraneous — 
gods  of  the  hills,  the  valleys,  the  shop,  and  the 
kitchen.  Altars  are  erected  on  the  hills  and  in 
the  groves,  and  idols  are  set  up  at  the  corners 
of  the  streets,  on  the  sides  of  the  road,  on  the 
banks  of  canals,  and  in  the  boats.  Astrology, 
divination,  and  necromancy,  everywhere  pre- 
vail. The  worship  of  dead  ancestors  is  widely 
prevalent.  In  accordance  with  their  religion, 
their  general  character  is  well  known  to  be 
that  of  fraud,  lying,  and  hypocrisy.  Polyga- 
my also  universally  exists,  as  well  as  the  prac- 
tice of  exposing  infants,  thousands  of  whom  die 
annually  from  this  cause.  In  India  the  poly- 
theism of  the  Hindoos  is  of  the  grossest  kind, 
not  fewer  than  three  hundred  and  thirty  mill- 
ion deities  claiming  adoration.    Rites  the  most 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility,  49 

impure,  penances  the  most  toilsome,  almost 
innumerable  modes  of  self-torture,  the  burn- 
ing or  burying  of  widows,  infanticide,  sub- 
mersion of  the  sick  and  the  dying  in  the 
Ganges,  self-immolation  —  these  and  such 
like  are  the  horrid  practices  of  their  idolatry. 
Nor  is  the  case  much  different  among  the 
Mohammedans.  Fierceness,  rapacity,  cruel- 
ty, polygamy,  and  falsehood,  mark  their  char- 
acter. 

Such  has  ever  been  and  still  is  the  condition 
of  all  nations  without  Christianity.  To  such 
a  state  has  man  ever  come  without  a  revela- 
tion. It  cannot  be  argued  that  it  was  for  the 
lack  of  intellectual  ability  that  these  nations 
fell  into  such  corruptions.  Some  of  them  were 
most  successful  in  all  other  intellectual  exer- 
tions, and  have  never  been  surpassed,  if  ever 
equaled,  in  producing  great  works  of  art  and 
literature,  or  of  achieving  distinction  in  poli- 
tics or  war.  No;  it  was  not  because  their 
intellects  were  inferior,  but  only  because,  at 
its  best,  the  mind  of  man  is  incapable  of  form- 
ing any  adequate  system  of  religion,  that  Plato 
and  Aristotle,  with  all  the  rest  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  produced  such  imperfect  and  in- 
sufficient schemes.  This  truth  is  still  farther 
shown  by  the  speculations  of  modern  skeptical 
philosophers,  who,  nevertheless,  have  enjoyed 
3 


50  Positive  Evidences,  [Parti. 

the  advantages  of  the  knowledge  of  the  truth 
revealed  to  us  by  the  Scriptures.  Those  spec- 
ulations are  often  contradictory  and  discordant 
among  themselves,  and  no  less  also  with  true 
reason  and  common  sense.  Bolingbroke  taught 
that  all  morality  was  resolvable  into  self-love, 
and  that  ambition,  sensuality,  and  avarice, 
may  be  lawfully  gratified  if  they  may  be  safely 
gratified.  Hume  maintained  that  self-denial 
and  humility  are  not  virtues,  but  useless  and 
mischievous ;  that  adultery  must  be  practiced 
if  men  would  obtain  all  the  advantages  of  life, 
and  that  if  it  were  generally  practiced  it  would 
in  time  cease  to  be  scandalous,  and  by  degrees 
be  thought  to  be  no  crime.  Both  Voltaire  and 
Helvetius  advocated  the  most  unlimited  gratifi- 
cation of  the  sensual  appetites  ;  and  Rousseau, 
according  to  his  own  printed  '-Confessions," 
was  a  debauched  profligate,  who  made  his  feel- 
ings the  only  standard  of  right.  "All  that  I 
feel  to  be  right  is  right,"  he  says;  "  whatever 
I  feel  to  be  wrong  is  wrong."  And  what  the 
character  of  the  French  Revolution  was  under 
the  direction  of  men  entertaining  similar  opin- 
ions, let  history  tell  as  a  witness  of  what  men 
form  for  themselves  when  left  .to  themselves. 
And  it  would  be  with  us  and  our  nation  as 
with  Greece  and  Rome,  as  with  China,  and 
India,  and  with  infidel  France,  were  we  de- 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  51 

privecl  of  Christianity ;  for  we  are,  by  nature, 
no  better  than  they.  Thus  we  behold  our  need 
of  a  revelation  from  God. 

4.  Farther,  such  need  must  ever  continue. 
From  the  very  nature  of  the  case  man  is  una- 
ble to  discover  fully,  by  the  light  of  nature, 
what  he  needs.  (1)  Vide  "Watson's  Insti- 
tutes." The  quality  of  moral  actions  must 
be  presumed  to  be  matter  of  revelation  from 
God.  Creation  implies  government,  govern- 
ment implies  law,  and  law  must  be  given  by 
revelation.  This  may  be  through  nature,  or 
through  nature  and  direct  revelation  also. 
The  latter  alone  is  sufficient,  since,  1st.  There 
are  many  duties  not  clearly  taught  by  nature 
alone.  For  instance,  temperance  is  not  taught, 
except  it  be  by  the  loss  of  health,  etc. ;  and 
therefore  we  should  suppose  that  it  was  not 
required  of  those  whose  health,  etc.,  is  not 
injured  thereby,  and  therefore  we  should  have 
one  rule  for  one  class  and  another  rule  for  an- 
other. And  so,  likewise,  with  justice,  since 
injustice  goes  often  unpunished  in  this  life; 
and  with  benevolence,  since  nature  is  full  of 
rigor.  Besides,  there  is  nothing  to  show  us 
that  it  is  our  duty  to  worship  God,  nor  that  he 
may  be  approached  in  prayer,  nor  that  there 
is  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments, 
nor,  clearly,  that  man  is  immortal,  nor  that 


52  Positioe  Evidences.  [Parti. 

there  is  any  pardon  for  sin.  2d.  But  even 
were  nature  sufficient,  our  reason  is  insuffi- 
cient; for,  at  the  best,  reason  is  very  imper- 
fect. Again,  men's  reasons  greatly  differ,  and 
hence  there  would  be  diverse  rules.  Again, 
men  are  not  sufficiently  contemplative,  nor 
sufficiently  honest,  for  such  inquiries.  And 
still  farther,  if  the  truth  were  once  found,  and 
intellectual  men  appointed  to  teach  it,  it  would 
yet  lack  the  authority  of  a  divine  revelation, 
and  so  be  powerless.  (2)  Vide  "Wayland's 
Moral  Science."  Conscience  is  imperfect.  1st. 
Unassisted,  it  does  not  discover  many  obliga- 
tions man  is  under,  both  to  God  and  to  his 
fellow-man,  as  is  fulty  proved  by  the  failures 
to  do  so  by  the  wisest  and  best  of  the  ancients. 
2d.  In  such  as  he  does  discover  and  acknowl- 
edge, man  frequently  errs  as  to  the  mode  in 
which  they  are  to  be  discharged,  as,  for  instance, 
when  he  feels,  as  has  often  been  the  case,  his 
obligations  to  God,  but  thinks  he  may  dis- 
charge them  by  offering  human  sacrifices.  3d. 
When  both  his  duty  and  the  manner  of  dis- 
charging them  are  known,  conscience  is  yet 
often  too  obtuse  or  too  weak,  as  we  all  know, 
to  make  men  feel  them,  and  impel  men  to  a 
discharge  of  them.  We  therefore  need  addi- 
tional means  of  securing  both  the  knowledge 
and  the  enforcement  of  our  duties  to  those 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  53 

which  conscience,  imperfect  as  we  thus  see 
that  it  is,  can  give. 

5.  In  nature,  God's  revelation  of  himself 
is  imperfect,  and  therefore  our  knowledge  of 
what  is  due  him,  as  well  as  of  his  will  toward 
us,  is  imperfect.  Nature  does  indeed  reveal 
his  existence,  his  power  and  wisdom,  and  his 
established  principle  of  order,  but  it  reveals : 

(1)  Imperfectly  his  disposition  of  benevolence. 

(2)  And  nothing  whatever  of  his  character  of 
holiness,  except  indeed  it  may  be  very  imper- 
fectly reflected  from  the  moral  character  of 
his  creature,  man.  (3)  And  if  we  should  ar- 
rive at  a  conception  of  his  holiness,  there  is 
yet  no  power  revealed  jn  nature  by  which  sin 
may  be  overcome  within  us.  Therefore,  both 
from  the  imperfection  of  the  knowledge  given 
by  nature,  and  from  its  total  lack  of  moral 
power  to  aid  us  in  carrying  that  knowledge 
into  action,  nature  is  insufficient,  and  a  farther 
revelation  is  needed  from  God,  manifesting  his 
moral  and  spiritual  nature  in  its  perfection, 
and  possessed  of  power  over  the  human  heart 
to  frame  it  for  right  action.  "  In  fine,"  we  may 
well  conclude  with  Paley,  "  I  deem  it  unneces- 
sary to  prove  that  mankind  stood  in  need  of  a 
revelation,  because  I  have  met  with  no  serious 
person  who  thinks  that  even  under  the  Chris- 
tian revelation  we  have  too  much  light." 


54  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

From  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  then,  we 
perceive  the  total  inadequacy  of  nature  alone 
to  suffice  for  the  moral  necessities  of  man,  and 
we  conclude  the  probability  of  a  farther  and 
direct  revelation  for  their  supply,  at  the  hands 
of  that  wise  and  benevolent  Creator  and  Pre- 
server, who,  in  nature,  has  so  bounteously  and 
variously  provided  for  his  physical  need  and 
joy.  This  conclusion,  we  have  seen,  is  con- 
firmed by  the  general  opinion  of  men,  that  such 
a  revelation  was  necessary,  as  also  by  the  great- 
est thinkers  that  have  lived.  It  is  farther 
exhibited  in  the  utter  confusion  as  to  the  most 
important  doctrines  that  has  always  prevailed 
in  the  absence  of  such  a  revelation.  And  last- 
ly, we  have  seen  how  much  it  is  demanded  by 
the  dark  view  of  the  moral  state  of  the  whole 
world,  in  all  times,  without  revelation.  We 
claim,  then,  from  this  survey,  that  any  just 
a  priori  improbability  that  Hume's  objection 
may  be  thought  to  bring  against  revelation, 
because  of  the  uniformity  of  the  laws  of  nat- 
ure and  the  improbability  of  miracle,  is  more 
than  counterbalanced  by  this  other,  strong, 
opposing  a  priori  improbability  that  this  im- 
perative need  of  man  should  never  be  supplied 
by  the  great  and  good  God.  While  we  con- 
cede such  a  general  uniformity  of  nature,  yet, 
remembering  that  God  has  not  put  it  out  of 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  55 

his  own  power  to  interfere  with  nature,  and 
directly  control  her,  and  remembering  too  that 
science  itself  teaches  us  that  several  times, 
on  extraordinary  occasions — in  creation,  in  the 
production  of  life,  and  in  the  bringing  forth 
of  man  —  he  has  so  interfered  for  beneficent 
purposes,  we  must  conclude  that,  for  such  high 
ends  as  we  have  pointed  out,  he  would  once 
more  so  interfere  in  our  behalf,  and  work  even 
miracles  to  give  us  a  revelation  of  himself,  of 
our  destiny,  and  of  his  will. 

6.  Hume's  objection  is  thus  fallacious  in  the 
incorrectness  of  its  statement  of  the  facts.  It 
is  fallacious  too  in  not  recognizing  the  ante- 
cedent probability  of  a  revelation  as  opposing 
the  a  priori  improbability  of  a  miracle.  It  is, 
thirdly,  fallacious  in  its  argument  itself,  in  that 
it  really  begs  the  question  in  dispute.  For, 
by  saying  that  "the  proof  against  a  miracle 
is  as  entire  as  any  argument  from  experience 
can  be,"  etc.,  he  can  surely  mean  nothing  less 
than  that  a  miracle  is  something  wholly  un- 
known to  all  human  experience,  and  that  the 
laws  of  nature  have  been  always  uniform.  This 
is  the  whole  point  of  his  argument.  But  this 
is  the  very  point  in  dispute.  We  claim  that, 
even  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  Bible,  many  thou- 
sands, in  different  countries  and  ages,  and  some- 
times through  a  long  series  of  years — from  the 


56  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

passage  of  the  Red  Sea  by  the  Israelites,  and 
their  daily  supply  of  manna  for  forty  years  in 
the  wilderness,  to  the  feeding  of  the  thousands 
by  Christ,  and  afterward — miracles  were  open- 
ly witnessed  by  multitudes  of  people.  If  the 
Bible  account  is  doubted,  or  alleged  to  be  false, 
that  is  another  and  a  prior  question,  which 
must  be  settled  by  showing,  on  other  (/rounds, 
that  the  evidence  for  their  truth  is  insufficient, 
contradictory,  or  disproved  by  other  evidence. 
But  we  cannot  say  the  Bible  is  false,  simply 
because  it  tells  of  the  occurrence  of  miracles, 
and  miracles  are  impossible,  and  then  argue 
that  miracles  are  impossible,  because  we  are 
nowhere  credibly  told  of  their  occurrence.  The 
latter  is  the  argument  of  flume,  given  with- 
out any  previous  impeachment  on  extraneous 
grounds  of  the  credibility  of  the  Scripture 
narrative.  His  position,  then,  that  miracles 
are  unknown  to  human  experience,  really  begs 
the  very  point  at  issue — a  point  which,  like  all 
questions  of  fact,  can  only  be  finally  settled  by 
a  full  and  impartial  consideration  of  the  tes- 
timony for  or  against,  not  by  abstract  reason- 
ing of  what  is  and  what  is  not  antecedently 
probable. 

7.  Finally,  it  may  be  safely  claimed,  in  op- 
position to  the  position  taken  in  the  objection, 
that  there  is  no  miracle  so  great  but  that  hu- 


Ch.  3.]  Competency  and  Credibility,  57 

man  testimony  may  establish  it.  Our  minds 
are  so  formed  that  their  assent  is  absolutely 
compelled  to  be  given  whenever  a  certain 
amount  and  kind  of  evidence  have  been  given. 
"The  evidence,"  as  Campbell  says,  "arising 
from  human  testimony,  in  point  of  fact,  is  not 
altogether  derived  from  experience,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  our  doubt  about  testimony  arises 
from  experience.  In  reality,  the  constitution 
of  our  nature  obliges  us  to  believe  the  testimony 
of  thousands  of  our  fellow-men — and  these,  too, 
men  of  strict  integrity,  swayed  by  no  motives 
of  ambition  or  interest,  and  governed  by  the 
principles  of  common  sense — of  things  to  which 
they  were  themselves  the  actual  witnesses." 
"If  twelve  men,  in  short,"  as  Paley  shows, 
"should  testify  to  the  same  miraculous  fact, 
and  continue  to  repeat  it,  though  at  the  risk  of 
life,  through  many  years,  separate  and  apart, 
in  opposition  to  many  keen  and  watchful  op- 
ponents, and  before  various  tribunals  of  justice, 
and  if  their  testimony  should  nevertheless  per- 
fectly agree,  and  be  corroborated  by  all  the 
other  witnesses  in  the  case,  and  by  all  the  at- 
tendant circumstances  discoverable,  it  maybe 
truly  said  that  the  human  mind  could  not  re- 
sist such  testimony." 

Whether  Christianity  has  such  testimony  to 
its  truth,  we  will  hereafter  discuss.     We  now 
3* 


58  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

claim  that  it  has  been  shown  that  miracles, 
and  consequently  a  revelation,  may  be  estab- 
lished by  human  testimony.  The  objection 
which  denies  it  is  shown  to  be  without  force — 
nay,  a  strong  antecedent  probability  is  seen  to 
exist  in  its  favor ;  and  we  therefore  bring  this 
stage  of  our  inquiry  to  a  close  with  the  affirma- 
tion of  the  Competency  of  Evidence  in  general 
to  prove  Miracles,  and  therefore  to  establish 
the  fact  of  a  revelation  given  of  God. 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  59 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  COMPETENCY  OF  THE  EVIDENCE — II.  PROB- 
ABLE EVIDENCE  IS  SUFFICIENT  TO  PROVE  A 
REVELATION. 

The  next  possible  objection  to  the  Christian 
Evidences  is  that  they  consist  only  of  proba- 
ble, and  not  demonstrative,  evidence,  and  are 
therefore  insufficient.  This  objection  asserts 
that,  inasmuch  as  the  best  human  testimony  is 
liable  to  error,  revelation  is  not  proved  there- 
by, beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt,  and  con- 
sequently the  evidence  is  inadequate.  This 
brings  us  to  consider  the  Competency  of  the 
Evidence  in  its  second  point — namely,  the  Suf- 
ficiency of  Probable  Evidence  to  Prove  a  Rev- 
elation. 

It  is  sufficient,  because  it  is  unreasonable 
and  absurd  to  require  any  greater  than  prob- 
able evidence  of  the  facts  of  the  Christian  re- 
ligion. Whately  has  remarked,  in  his  Anno- 
tations on  Bacon's  Essays,  that  the  "craving 
for  infallibility  in  religious  matters  is  a  fruitful 
cause  of  atheism.  Some,  because  they  think 
that  revelation  is  not  such  as  it  is  reasonable 
and  proper  for  God  to  bestow,  choose  to  reject 


60  Positive  Evidences.  [part  i. 

it,  thus  claiming  for  themselves  infallibility  of 
judgment  as  to  what  is  reasonable  and  proper, 
and  judging  God;  others,  because  they  think 
some  system  of  theology — some  particular  in- 
terpretation of  the  Bible — to  be  wrong,  reject 
the  Bible  itself  with  the  theological  system — 
as  if  the  possession  of  a  divine  revelation  in- 
sured the  presence  also  of  an  infallible  inter- 
preter." In  like  manner  others,  as  unreason- 
ably and  absurdly,  reject  Christianity  because 
its  evidences  are  probable  only,  and  not  de- 
monstrative— that  is,  that  it  establishes  its 
facts  only  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  but  not 
beyond  all  possibility  of  objection  by  their  own 
minds.  In  opposition  to  such  a  notion,  we  as- 
sert that  probable  evidence  is  alone  applicable 
to  the  case  in  hand.  Demonstrative  evidence 
is  totally  inapplicable  to  the  establishment  not 
only  of  the  facts  of  Christianity,  but  to  that  of 
any  facts  whatever. 

1.  Demonstrative  evidence  consists  solely  in 
that  evidence  which  arises  from  our  reasoning 
from  primary  axioms  of  abstract  principles  to 
other  abstract  truths.  Wholly  abstract,  there- 
fore, and  disconnected  with  any  matter  of  fact, 
it  is  limited  in  its  application  entirely  to  the  re- 
lations of  number  and  quantity,  and  capable  of 
establishing  mathematical  truth  alone.  "The 
field  of  demonstration,"  says  Reid  ("  Intellect- 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  61 

ual  Powers  of  Man  "),  "  is  necessary  truth  ;  the 
field  of  probable  reasoning  is  contingent  truth 
— i.  e.,  not  what  necessarily  must  be  at  all  times, 
but  what  is,  or  was,  or  shall  be.  .  .  .  The 
strength  of  probable  reasoning,  for  the  most 
part,  depends  not  upon  any  one  argument,  but 
upon  many  which  unite  their  force,  and  lead  to 
the  same  conclusion.  Any  one  of  them  by  it- 
self would  be  insufficient  to  convince,  but  the 
whole  taken  together  may  have  a  force  that  is 
irresistible;  so  that  to  desire  more  evidence 
would  be  absurd.  Would  any  man  seek  new 
arguments  to  prove  that  there  were  such  per- 
sons as  King  Charles  I.  and  Oliver  Cromwell  ? 
Such  evidence  may  be  compared  to  a  rope 
made  up  of  many  slender  filaments  twisted 
together.  The  rope  has  strength  more  than 
sufficient  to  bear  the  stress  laid  upon  it,  though 
no  one  of  the  filaments  of  which  it  is  composed 
would  be  sufficient  for  it."  Such  are  the  prin- 
ciples of  evidence  laid  down  by  Reid  the  phi- 
losopher, in  his  great  work  on  the  human  mind, 
as  the  rules  that  must  govern  in  all  our  decis- 
ions. In  addition,  we  must  remember  that  at 
its  best  the  human  mind  is  not  infallible,  and 
therefore  all  its  knowledge  whatsoever  is  liable 
to  error — that  none  of  its  conclusions  are  ever 
really  put  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt. 
The  very  fact  that  evidence  is  necessary  to  us 


62  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

in  order  to  establish  a  truth  shows  that  we  are 
beings  of  limited  powers.  (Vide  Essay,  by 
the  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  Fortnightly  Review, 
May,  1879,  on  "Probability  as  the  Guide  of 
Conduct.").  If  we  were  not,  we  should  be  able 
to  recognize  whatever  is  true  immediately, 
without  the  aid  of  intermediate  evidence ;  but 
if  our  powers  are  limited,  they  are  always  lia- 
ble to  make  mistake.  Not  that  they  will  nec- 
essarily err.  A  being  of  the  most  limited 
powers,  while  always  liable  to  error,  may  yet 
always  hit  the  truth ;  and  therefore  it  is  thai 
we  are  still  capable  of  attaining  to  a  real 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  though  we  are  falli- 
ble, and  therefore  that  probable  evidence  may 
form  a  valid  ground  for  confidence  in  our  con- 
clusions. But  still  there  remains  the  fact  that 
all  our  mental  faculties  are  in  themselves  im- 
perfect ;  their  operations  also,  and  their  acts, 
are  never  infallible,  and  therefore  their  conclu- 
sions are  always  open  to  some  degree  of  doubt. 
The  demand,  then,  that  Christian  Evidences 
should  be  free  from  all  doubt  is  unreasonable 
and  absurd. 

2.  But  not  only  are  such  the  conclusions  of 
abstract  reasoning,  but  these  are  the  principles 
that  are  practically  and  constantly  followed  in 
trials  by  our  judicial  tribunals.  Greenleaf,  the 
standard  legal  authority  on  the  subject,  in  his 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  63 

work  "On  Evidence,"  in  his  chapter,  in  vol.  1, 
on  the  "Nature  and  Principles  of  Evidence" 
(Italics  ours),  says:  "None  but  mathematical 
truth  is  susceptible  of  that  high  degree  of  evi- 
dence called  demonstration  which  excludes  all 
possibility  of  error.  Matters  of  fact  are  proved 
by  moral  evidence  alone  ;  by  which  is  meant  not 
only  that  kind  of  evidence  which  is  employed 
on  subjects  connected  with  moral  conduct,  but 
all  the  evidence  which  is  not  obtained  either 
from  intuition  or  demonstration.  In  the  ordi- 
nary affairs  of  life  we  do  not  require  demon- 
strative evidence,  because  it  is  inconsistent 
with  the  nature  of  the  subject,  and  to  insist 
upon  it  would  be  to  be  unreasonable  and  ab- 
surd. The  most  that  can  be  affirmed  of  such 
things  is  that  there  is  no  reasonable  doubt  con- 
cerning them.  The  true  question,  therefore,  in 
trials  of  fact  is  not  whether  it  is  possible  that  the 
testimony  may  be  false,  but  whether  there  is  a  suffi- 
cient probability  of  its  truth — that  is,  whether  the 
facts  are  shown  by  competent  and  satisfactory 
evidence.  Things  established  by  competent 
and  satisfactory  evidence  are  said  to  be  proved. 
.  .  .  It  is  assumed  (i.  e.,  by  objectors  to  this 
position)  that  all  that  men  know  is  due  to  per- 
ception and  reflection.  But  the  knowledge  ac- 
quired by  an  individual  through  his  own  per- 
ception and  reflection  is  but  a  small  part  of 


64  Positive  Evidences. 


[Part  I. 


what  he  possesses,  much  of  what  we  are  content 
to  regard  and  act  upon  as  knowledge  having 
been  acquired  through  others.  Indeed,  if  ma  n 
is  to  believe  only  upon  his  own  personalexpe- 
rience,  the  world  can  neither  be  governed  nor 
improved,  and  society  must  remain  in  the  state 
in  which  it  was  left  by  the  first  generation 
of  men.  The  disposition  to  believe  may  be 
termed  instinctive.  It  is  true  that,  in  receiv- 
ing the  testimony  of  others,  we  are  much  influ- 
enced by  its  accordance  with  facts  previously 
known  or  believed,  and  this  constitutes  what 
is  termed  its  probability.  Statements  thus 
probable  are  received  upon  evidence  much 
less  cogent  than  we  require  for  the  belief  of 
those  which  do  not  accord  with  our  previous 
knowledge.  Nevertheless,  we  should  beware 
of  distrusting  all  others.  While  unbounded 
credulity  is  the  attribute  of  weak  minds,  un- 
limited skepticism  belongs  only  to  those  who 
make  their  own  knowledge  and  observation 
the  exclusive  standard  of  probability.  Thus 
the  King  of  Siam  rejected  the  testimony  of  the 
Dutch  embassador,  that  in  his  country  water 
was  sometimes  congealed  into  a  solid  mass. 
Skeptics,  inconsistently  enough  with  their  own 
principles,  yet  true  to  the  nature  of  man,  con- 
tinue to  receive  a  large  portion  of  their  knowl- 
edge upon  testimony  not  derived  from  their 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  65 

own  experience,  but  from  that  of  other  men, 
even  when  it  is  at  variance  with  much  of  their 
own  personal  observation.  Thus  the  testimo- 
ny of  the  historian  is  received  with  confidence 
in  regard  to  the  occurrences  of  ancient  times ; 
that  of  the  naturalist  and  traveler,  in  regard  to 
the  natural  history  and  civil  condition  of  other 
countries ;  that  of  the  astronomer,  respecting 
the  heavenly  bodies  —  facts  which,  upon  the 
narrow  basis  of  his  own  'firm  and  unalterable 
experience,'  upon  which  Mr.  Hume  so  much 
relies,  he  would  be  bound  to  reject  as  wholly 
unworthy  of  belief." 

Such  are  the  principles  constantly  followed, 
in  decisions  made  as  to  matters  of  fact,  in  our 
courts  of  justice.  They  are  reasonably  to  be 
taken  as  rules  which,  having  been  settled  by 
the  wisest  jurists,  through  centuries  of  dis- 
cussion, are  proper  to  guide  us  in  the  forma- 
tion of  our  opinion  as  to  questions  of  fact. 
Demonstrative  evidence  is  by  them  utterly 
excluded.  Demonstrative  evidence,  then,  can- 
not be  reasonably  demanded  of  the  truth  of 
the  facts  of  the  Christian  religion.  Christian- 
ity asks  nothing  more  than  that  her  claims 
be  subjected  to  the  ordinary  tests  established 
for. the  ascertainment  of  facts.  Those  who 
require  that  they  shall  be  proved  by  demon- 
strative evidence  are  unreasonable  in  the  high- 


66  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

est  extreme,  and  their  demand  is  wholly  ab- 
surd. 

3.  Farther  still,  science  also,  in  whose  name 
the  demand  for  demonstrative  evidence  is 
sometimes  brought,  follows  the  same  princi- 
ples; for  the  truth  of  the  laws  of  nature 
also  is  dependent  on  human  testimony.  The 
facts  from  which  those  laws  are  deduced — e.  g., 
the  observations  of  astronomy,  botany,  phys- 
ics, etc. — for  much  the  greater  part  can  be 
furnished  by  others  only,  and  not  perceived 
individually  by  that  one  (e.  #.,  Newton)  who 
deduces  from  them  those  laws. 

Moreover,  since  no  fact  whatever  can  be 
proved  to  exist  by  demonstrative  evidence 
as  is  a  mathematical  problem,  the  facts  upon 
which  science  herself,  infallible  as  she  is  sup- 
posed to  be,  builds  her  deductions,  are  also 
liable  to  be  mistaken ;  for  whether  obtained 
through  the  use  of  the  microscope,  or  of  chem- 
ical experiment,  etc.,  they  are  obtained  only 
by  observation  and  experiment,  and  therefore 
are  all  established  by  no  more  than  probable 
evidence,  and  liable  to  be  erroneous,  and  to 
lead  to  erroneous  conclusions.  The  constant 
conflict  in  the  testimony  of  the  most  scientific 
experts,  given  in  judicial  cases,  proves  this. 
After  having  had  the  best  opportunities  of  ex- 
amination, and  using  the  best  instruments  and 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  *  67 

chemicals,  and  with  their  professional  reputa- 
tion at  stake,  the  leading  representatives  of 
their  several  professions  will  yet  usually  come 
into  court,  after  examining  the  same  spot  of 
blood,  or  the  same  body,  and,  instead  of  testi- 
fying alike,  two  or  three  will  swear  positively 
that  the  blood  in  question  is  human  blood,  or 
the  body  contains  poison,  while  as  many  others 
will  swear  as  positively  directly  to  the  con- 
trary.* 

Accordingly  Jevous,  an  acknowledged  au- 
thority on  the  subject  ("Principles  of  Science," 
vol.  i.,  pp.  244,  271,  et  seq.),  lays  down  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  I  conceive  that  it  is  impossible  even 
to  expound  the  principles  and  motives  of  in- 
duction, as  applied  to  natural  phenomena,  in 
a  sound  manner,  without  resting  them  upon 
the  theory  of  probability.  Perfect  knowledge 
alone  can  give  certainty,  and  in  nature  perfect 

*  Thus  in  a  case  cited  in  4  American  Law  Journal,  625, 
on  a  question  of  forgery  of  a  signature,  among  other  con- 
flicts of  testimony  between  men  of  the  highest  scientific 
authority,  in  examining  whether  "under  the  ink  of  the 
disputed  signature  the  microscope  brought  to  light  marks 
of  tracing,"  Dr.  Charles  T.  Jackson,  a  "  specialist  in  this 
line  of  extraordinary  skill  and  reputation,  and  Prof.  Hors- 
ford,  well  known  for  his  accomplishments  in  the  same  line, 
backed  by  other  experts  of  distinction,"  swore  positively 
that  it  did,  and  Profs.  Agassiz  and  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes 
that  it  did  not. 


68  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

knowledge  would  be  infinite  knowledge,  which 
is  clearly  beyond  our  capacities.  We  have 
therefore  to  content  ourselves  with  partial 
knowledge  —  knowledge  mingled  with  igno- 
rance, and,  producing  doubt.  .  .  .  We  can 
never  recur  too  often  to  the  truth,  that  our 
knowledge  of  the  laws  and  future  events  of  the 
external  world  is  only  probable.  .  .  .  What- 
ever feeling  is  actually  present  to  the  mind  is 
certainly  known  to  that  mind.  If  I  see  blue 
sky,  I  may  be  quite  sure  that  I  do  experience 
the  sensation  of  blueness.  ...  In  the  sec- 
ond place,  we  may  haAre  certainty  of  inference. 
The  first  axioms  of  Euclid  are  certainly  true, 
.  .  .  and  whatever  truth  there  is  in  the 
premises  I  can  certainly  embody  in  their  di- 
rect logical  result.  .  .  .  But  I  never  can  be 
quite  sure  that  two  colors  are  exactly  alike, 
that  two  magnitudes  are  exactly.equal,  or  that 
two  bodies,  whatsoever,  are  identical,  even  in 
their  apparent  relations.  .  .  .  Inferences 
which  we  draw  concerning  natural  objects  are 
never  certain,  except  in  a  hypothetical  point 
of  view." 

Science  too,  then,  must  rest  her  whole  sys- 
tem upon  the  very  same  kind  of  evidence  as 
supports  revelation ;  and  Christianity,  to  judge 
whose  claims  she  has  by  some  of  her  followers 
been  arrogantly  claimed  to  be  the   supreme 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  69 

arbiter,  is  bound  to  confront  her,  on  her  own 
ground,  with  equal  support  of  truth.  Proba- 
ble evidence  is,  and  can  be,  the  only  ground 
of  confidence  in  each,  as  it  is,  and  alone  can 
be,  of  all  our  knowledge  derived  from  matters 
of  fact. 

4.  The  speculative  reasoning  then  of  philos- 
ophers, the  practical  administration  of  justice 
in  the  courts,  and  the  deductive  reasonings  of 
science,  thus  unite  in  acknowledging  probable 
evidence  sufficient  to  decide  matters  of  fact. 
We  adduce,  finally,  the  course  of  daily,  ordi- 
nary life,  as  showing  by  the  constant  conduct 
of  men  their  real  opinion  of  its  sufficiency  to 
decide  our  actions  in  matters  pertaining  to  this 
life,  and  we  claim  therefore  that  it  should  also 
decide  in  the  same  way  our  action  in  respect 
to  religion.  "  Probable  evidence,  in  its  very 
nature,  affords  but  an  imperfect  kind  of  infor- 
mation, but  to  us  is  the  very  guide  of  life, 
.  .  .  but  being  often  repeated,  will  amount 
even  to  moral  certainty — as,  e.  g.,  the  ebb  and 
flow  of  the  tide.  .  .  .  It  is  thought  by  some 
that  if  the  evidence  of  revelation  appears 
doubtful,  this  itself  turns  into  a  positive  argu- 
ment against  it ;  .  .  .  [whereas],  in  questions 
of  difficulty,  if  there  appears,  on  the  whole,  a 
greater  presumption  on  one  side  than  on  the 
other,  this  determines  the  question,  and  lays  us 


70  Positive  Evidences.  [pal.t  i. 

under  an  absolute  obligation  to  act  upon  that 
presumption.  Nay,  in  questions  of  great  con- 
sequence, a  reasonable  man  will  act  upon  pre- 
sumptions such  as  amount  to  no  more  than  to 
show  that  one  side  is  as  credible  as  another, 
as  in  numberless  cases  in  the  common  pursuits 
of  life,  where  a  man  would  be  thought,  in  a 
literal  sense,  distracted,  who  would  not  act, 
and  with  great  application  too,  not  only  upon 
an  even  chance,  but  upon  much  less  (e.  g., 
where  health,  fortune,  or  life,  are  at  stake). 
.  .  .  Besides,  the  evidence  of  religion  not 
appearing  obvious  (i.  e.,  the  fact  that  the  evi- 
dence of  religion  may  not  seem  entirely  suffi- 
cient to  them  at  first  sight),  may  be  part  of 
some  men's  trial,  and  give  scope  for  a  virtu- 
ous exercise  or  vicious  neglect  of  the  under- 
standing in  examining  or  not  examining  into  it. 
The  man  who  had  a  right  disposition,  such  as 
would  lead  him  to  follow  the  precepts  of  relig- 
ion, if  proved  to  be  true,  would  be  led,  were 
he  unconvinced,  seriously  to  consider  its  evi- 
dence. Negligence  before  conviction  is  as  really 
guilty  as  disobedience  afterward.  And  even 
doubtful  evidence  puts  men  in  a  state  of  pro- 
bation. .  .  .  If  a  man  were  in  doubt  whether 
his  entire  temporal  blessings  did  not  come 
from  a  certain  person,  he  could  not  consider 
himself  in  the  same  situation  with  regard  to 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  71 

such  person  as  if  he  had  no  [such]  doubt; 
but  there  would  be  required  from  him  rever- 
ence, careful  consideration,  openness  to  farther 
light  and  conviction.  Doubt  as  much  implies 
same  evidence  as  belief  a  higher  degree  of  it, 
and  certainty  a  higher  degree  still.  For, 
when  we  say  there  is  an  even  chance,  there  is 
more  evidence  for  either  side  of  the  question 
than  there  is  for  the  truth  of  some  idea  that 
has  come  at  random  into  the  mind.  But  a 
disregard  of  even  the  lower  degrees  of  evi- 
dence in  our  practice  proves  unfairness,  and, 
in  religion,  corruptness  of  heart."  —  Butler's 
Analogy. 

That  probability  is  thus  necessarily  the  very 
guide  of  life  is  not  a  conclusion  held  by  Chris- 
tians only,  nor  has  it  been  used  only  to  estab- 
lish the  claims  of  religion.  Voltaire,  in  an 
essay  upon  judicial  inquiries,  says :  "Almost 
all  of  human  life  turns  upon  probabilities. 
All  that  is  not  demonstrated  to  the  eyes,  or 
recognized  as  true  by  those  clearly  interested 
to  deny,  is  at  most  only  probable.  .  .  .  Un- 
certainty being  almost  always  the  lot  of  man, 
you  will  determine  very  seldom,  if  you  expect 
a  demonstration.  In  the  meantime  an  opinion 
must  be  formed,  and  it  should  not  be  formed 
at  random.  It  is  then  necessary  to  our  feeble 
nature,  blind,  always  subject  to  error,  to  study 


72  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

the  probabilities  with  as  much  care  as  we  learn 
arithmetic  and  geometry."* 

Christianity,  therefore,  in  possessing  prob- 
able evidence,  has,  so  far  as  its  kind  is  con- 
cerned, all  the  evidence  that  we  do  or  can 
require  in  our  decisions  in  all— the  most  ordi- 
nary as  well  as  the  gravest — affairs  of  life.  It 
has  all  that  is  possible  to  be  applied  to  the 
ascertainment  of  matters  of  fact,  all  that  is 
ever  resorted  to  in  such  ascertainment  in  courts 
of  law,  and  all  that  natural  science  can  ever 
pretend  to  have  in  her  acquirements  of  data 
necessary  to  her  deductive  conclusions.  That 
evidence,  then,  is  competent  to  establish  her 
claims,  and  it  is  unreasonable  and  absurd  to 
demand  demonstrative  evidence,  or  evidence 
concerning  which  there  can  be  imagined  no 
possible  doubt.  The  denial  of  the  competency 
of  probable  evidence,  in  matters  of  fact,  to 

*  The  original  is  as  follows :  "  Presque  toute  le  vie  hu- 
mane roule  sur  des  probability.  Tout  ce  qui  n'est  pas 
dSmontre*  aux  yeux,  ou  reconnu  pour  vrai  par  les  parties 
evidemment  interressees  a  le  nier  n'est  tout  au  plus  que 
probable.  .  .  .  L'incertitude  etant  presque  toujours  le 
partage  de  rhomrae,  vous  determineriez  treVrarement,  si 
vous  attendiez  une  demonstration.  Cependant  il  faut  pren- 
dre un  parti ;  et  il  ne  faut  pas  le  prendre  au  hasard.  II 
est  done  necessaire  a  notre  nature  faible,  aveugle,  toujours 
sujette  a  l'erreur,  d'etudier  les  probabilites  avec  autant  de 
soin,  que  nous  apprenous  l'arithmetique  et  la  geom£trie." 


Ch.  4.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  73 

command  our  belief,  and  consequently  secure 
our  obedience,  must  logically  lead  to  the  denial 
of  the  establishment  of  every  fact,  and  render 
human  knowledge  impossible.  Accordingly, 
to  such  a  conclusion  does  Hume,  the  great  ob- 
jector to  the  testimony  offered  by  Christianity, 
come.  He  concludes  ("  Treatise  of  Human 
Nature,"  Book  I.,  Part  4,  Sec.  1) — first,  that 
all  that  is  called  human  knowledge  is  only 
probability ;  and,  secondly,  that  this  probabil- 
ity, when  duly  examined,  evanishes  by  degrees, 
and  leaves  at  last  no  evidence  at  all ;  so  that 
in  the  issue  there  is  no  ground  to  believe  any 
one  proposition  rather  than  its  contrary,  and 
"all  those  are  certainly  fools1' who  reason,  or 
believe  any  thing."  To  such  an  extremity  of 
universal  skepticism  must  the  denial  of  the 
competency  of  probable  evidence  logically  lead, 
and  actually  often  does  lead,  in  more  cases  than 
Hume's.  But  surely  such  a  conclusion  as  this 
is  not  the  highest  result  of  human  reason,  or 
the  best  for  human  interests.  "  He  who  makes 
wisdom,"  says  Augustin  (as  quoted  by  Yan 
Oosterzee),  "  consist  in  abstinence  from  all  as- 
sent, makes  it  merely  the  confession  of  igno- 
rance, and  identifies  it  with  nullity."  Our 
reason  cannot  agree  with  this.  We  must  be- 
lieve that  knowledge  is  attainable  by  man, 
and  therefore  that  to  the  attainment  of  that 
4 


74  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

knowledge  evidence  that  is  probable  is  suffi- 
cient. 

Concluding,  then,  that  the  evidence,  in  all  its 
aspects,  is  in  its  nature  wholly  competent,  we 
still  have  to  show,  in  order  to  establish  its  en- 
tire admissibility,  and,  so  far  as  the  truth  of 
the  facts  is  concerned,  its  worthiness  for  our 
acceptance — leaving  their  weight  to  be  after- 
ward estimated — that  the  record  of  those  facts, 
as  contained  in  the  New  Testament  Scriptures, 
is  a  true  account,  and  is  neither  forged  nor  fal- 
sified. This  topic  comprises  what  is  called  the 
Authenticity  of  the  Evidence,  and  will  form  the 
subject  of  the  following  chapter. 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  75 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   AUTHENTICITY   OF    THE   EVIDENCE. 

The  next  question  that  claims  our  attention 
is  that  of  the  trustworthiness,  or  authenticity, 
of  the  evidence  offered.  This  relates  merely 
to  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  history,  and,  with- 
out considering  their  weight,  examines  only 
whether  the  occurrences  related  in  that  his- 
tory, and  on  which  Christianity  is  founded,  are 
truly  related,  and  actually  took  place.  This 
will  form  the  last  question  in  our  consideration 
of  the  Admissibility  of  the  Evidence ;  and,  if 
its  examination  concludes  in  favor  of  the  truth 
of  that  record — the  competency  of  evidence  in 
general  being  already  established — we  must 
admit  that  the  evidence  that  therein  is  actu- 
ally offered  is  in  itself  genuine  and  trustwor- 
thy, and  of  a  nature  proper  to  be  used  for  the 
establishment  of  Christianity.  The  weight  to 
which  that  evidence  is  entitled,  in  proving  the 
divinity  of  Christianity,  is  a  farther  question, 
and  one  that  will  next  engage  our  attention. 

To  show  that  that  history  is  true,  we  cite  ex- 
actly the  same  kind  of  proofs,  but  in  a  much 
higher  degree,  as  in  establishing  the  authen- 


76  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

ticity  of  any  other  ancient  writings,  and  such 
as  are  universally  admitted  in  all  other  cases 
to  be  sufficient  to  establish  authenticity  beyond 
all  reasonable  doubt.  These  are  the  concur- 
rent testimony  of  contemporaneous  and  suc- 
ceeding authors  ;  the  difficulty  of  a  forgery,  in 
the  very  nature  of  the  case ;  the  internal  marks 
of  authenticity,  in  the  language  of  the  book,  its 
style,  and  its  agreement  within  itself;  its  agree- 
ment with  the  customs,  manners,  and  history, 
of  the  time  and  country  in  which  it  professes 
to  have  been  written ;  the  character  of  its  au- 
thor or  authors  for  truth  and  accuracy  of  in- 
formation ;  the  merit  of  the  work  itself,  in 
moral  character,  worth,  and  dignity;  the  fact 
of  great  changes  having  taken  place  in  the 
world's  history  through  the  facts  they  allege 
to  have  occurred;  the  present  existence  of 
world-wide  and  powerful  institutions — as,  e. 
g.,  the  Christian  Church — alleged  to  have  de- 
rived their  origin  from  those  facts,  and  of 
whose  origin — greatest  of  earthly  institutions, 
as  they  are,  and  having  their  beginning,  with- 
out doubt,  in  an  age  and  a  country  highly  en- 
lightened, and  of  whose  history  we  have  a  mi- 
nute account — we  have  no  other  explanation, 
nor  even  any  probable  hypothesis.  These,  and 
such  like  proofs,  are  held  sufficient  fully  to  de- 
cide the  truth  of  any  alleged  facts  of  past  times. 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  77 

Yery  seldom,  if  indeed  in  any  single  case,  do 
they  all  coincide  to  establish  the  truth  of  any 
ancient  writings  whatever,  except  that  of  the 
Gospel  history ;  and  used  separately,  as  they 
are  continually,  to  test  the  authenticity  of  other 
ancient  writings,  and  combining,  as  they  do,  to 
attest  the  validity  of  the  Gospels,  we  must  con- 
cede that  its  truth  is  proved  beyond  all  reason- 
able doubt.  To  exhibit  the  force  of  that  proof, 
we  will  present  the  evidence  to  show — -first, 
that  the  Gospel  account  existed  at,  or  at  least 
immediately  after,  the  time  and  in  the  place 
when  and  where  its  alleged  facts  occurred;  and, 
secondly,  that  thus  existing,  as  it  did,  where 
detection  was  easy  and  certain,  it  could  never 
have  gained  acceptance  or  escaped  an  expos- 
ure, if  it  had  been  an  imposture,  and  its  alleged 
facts  had  never  happened. 

1.  The  Gospel  histories  were  written  in  the 
countries,  and  very  soon  after  the  time,  in  which 
the  events  they  record  took  place. 

(1)  We  have  the  external  testimony  of  other 
authors  living  near  the  same  time  and  place  to 
this  fact.  "We  receive,"  writes  Home  (Intro- 
duction, etc.),  from  whom  much  of  the  follow- 
ing argument  is  drawn,  "the  works  of  Mat- 
thew, Mark,  etc.,  for  the  same  reasons  that  we 
receive  those  of  Xenophon,  Caesar,  etc.,  .  .  . 
but  in  a  much  stronger  degree.    For,  very  dif- 


78  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

ferently  from  the  classics,  the  New  Testament 
was  read  over  three-quarters  of  the  world, 
while  other  authors  were  limited  to  one  nation, 
or  country — were  read  publicly  and  often,  and 
were  acknowledged  by  large  societies  to  be  the 
writings  of  apostles  and  others,  as  they  profess. 
An  uninterrupted  succession  of  writers,  from 
the  apostolic  times  down — some  friends,  some 
enemies — either  quote  from  or  make  allusions 
to  them.  Translations  were  made  in  the  sec- 
ond century,  which  were  greatly  multiplied  in 
the  course  of  one  or  two  centuries,  so  that  forg- 
ery became  absolutely  impossible,  unless  we 
suppose  that  men  of  different  nations,  senti- 
ments, languages,  and  often  exceedingly  hos- 
tile to  each  other,  should  all  agree  in  one  forg- 
ery. But  if  we  are  to  do  this,  we  may  throw 
aside  all  the  writings  in  the  world,  and  reject 
human  testimony  altogether."  But  it  is  evi- 
dent Jhat,  if  not  genuine,  the  Gospels  must  be 
forgeries,  and  forgeries  too  of  later  ages,  since 
a  forged  history  could  certainly  not  be  palmed 
off  upon  the  age  itself  of  which  it  gave  its  false 
history.  Yet  it  is  equally  evident  that  a  forg- 
ery in  such  later  age,  when  it  would  have  had 
to  have  been  published  at  once  in  various  and 
widely-separated  languages  and  countries,  and, 
more  still,  as  the  sacred  writings  which  had 
been  held  by  them  and  their  fathers,  through 


Oh.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  79 

several  generations,  to  comprise  the  supreme 
rule  of  their  conduct — it  is  evident  that  such 
an  imposition  as  this  would  have  been  impos- 
sible. 

Moreover,  all  the  marks  of  forgery  are  want- 
ing. To  give  us  a  reasonable  ground  for  sus- 
picion, even,  that  a  work  is  spurious,  there 
must  exist  at  least  one  of  the  following  circum- 
stances: (1)  Doubts  entertained  from  its  ap- 
pearance in  the  world  as  to  its  genuineness  'y 
or  (2),  denials  by  immediate  friends  of  the  pre- 
tended author,  who  were  able  to  decide  upon  the 
subject;  or  (3),  a  long  series  of  years  elapsed 
after  his  death,  in  which  the  book  was  un- 
known ;  or  (4),  a  style  different  from  his  other 
writings,  or  different  from  what  might  reason- 
ably be  expected ;  or  (5),  events  recorded  that 
happened  later  than  the  time  of  the  pretended 
author ;  or  (6),  opinions  recorded  contrary  to 
those  he  was  known  to  hold.  But  not  one  of 
these  can  be  pretended  to  hold  against  the  gen- 
uineness of  the  Gospel  histories.  It  is  unrea- 
sonable and  unjust,  then,  to  charge  them  with 
being  forgeries  of  a  later  date,  merely  from 
self-will,  and  without  any  ground  of  rejection. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  have  a  succession  of 
writers,  friendly  and  hostile,  quoting  and  al- 
luding to  the  things  recorded  in  the  Gospels, 
as  well-known  facts,  running  up  to  the  apos- 


80  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

tolic  age.  In  the  fourth  century  we  have  nu- 
merous writers,  such  as  Jerome,  Eusebius, 
Augustin,  Athanasius,  etc.  Ten  catalogues 
are  given,  of  which  six  name  the  books  we  now 
have,  and  no  others ;  and,  of  the  other  four, 
three  omit  Revelation  only,  and  one,  by  Phi- 
laster,  of  Brescia,  omits  Hebrews  and  Revela- 
tion only — both  which  he,  however,  expressly 
acknowledges  in  his  other  works.  In  the  third 
century,  Origen,  Gregory,  Cyprian,  and  other 
Christians,  various  heretical  sects,  and  the  Em- 
peror Julian  the  Apostate  (an  infidel),  all  bear 
their  testimony.  In  the  second  century  we 
have  Tertullian,  of  Carthage,  first  an  orthodox, 
afterward  an  heretical,  writer ;  Clement,  of  Al- 
exandria; Theophilus,  of  Antioch;  Athenag- 
oras,  of  Athens ;  Irenseus,  of  Lyons ;  Melito, 
of  Sardis ;  Hegesippus,  a  converted  Jew ;  Ta- 
tian,  Justin  Martyr,  of  Palestine;  and  Papias, 
of  Hieropolis — all  of  whom  mention  some  of 
the  books,  and  some  nearly  all  the  books,  of 
the  New  Testament.  And  besides  these,  Mar- 
cion,  the  Sabellians,  Arians,  Donatists,  Nova- 
tians,  Manicheans,  and  other  heretics,  with 
Celsus  and  Porphyry,  infidels  and  bitter  ene- 
mies of  Christianity,  all  make  various  allusions 
to  the  New  Testament  books,  and  without  in- 
timating a  doubt  of  their  authenticity.  And 
in  the  first  century,  at  widely-separated  dis- 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  81 . 

tances,  the  following  widely -differing  writers 
do  the  same,  viz. :  Barnabas  and  Clement,  the 
fellow-laborers  of  Paul ;  Hermas,  their  contem- 
porary (vide  Rom.  xvi.  14)  ;  Ignatius,  who  was 
Bishop  of  Antioch,  A.D.  70;  Polycarp,  of 
Smyrna,  a  disciple  of  St.  John,  and  who  died 
about  A.D.  166;  Cerinthus,  a  heretic,  contem- 
porary with  St.  John,  and  the  Ebionites. 

At  greater  detail  Row  (Bampton  Lectures, 
1877)  shows  the  weight  of  this  testimony,  as 
follows :  1.  Irenseus,  Clement,  and  Tertullian, 
toward  the  end  of  the  second  century,  as  clear- 
ly recognized  the  Gospels  as  of  canonical  au- 
thority as  we.  2.  Marcion's  Gospel,  A.D.  140, 
was  a  mutilated  copy  of  Luke's.  3.  The  Gos- 
pels used  by  the  authors  above  are  of  very 
corrupt  text,  and  therefore  must  have  been 
in  existence  some  time.  4.  Papias,  who  died 
about  A.D.  163,  mentions  Matthew  and  Luke. 
5.  The  Apostolic  Fathers  mention  them.  Jus- 
tin Martyr,  who  wrote  A.D.  145-150,  and  whose 
life  therefore  brings  us  back  to  within  eighty 
or  eighty-five  years  of  the  death  of  Christ,  or 
about  as  long  as  that  of  Wesley  to  our  own 
times,  speaks  of  the  Memoirs  of  the  Apostles, 
and  "the  Gospels,"  which  were  publicly  read 
in  the  Church.  6.  Clement,  of  Rome,  Poly- 
carp, and  Ignatius,  whose  lives  covered  even 

earlier  periods,  also  refer  to  the  same  facts  as 
4* 


82  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

are  contained  in  the  Gospels.  Now,  the  refer- 
ences in  Justin  are  about  two  hundred  in  num- 
ber, one  hundred  and  ninety-six  of  which,  for 
all  practical  purposes,  are  the  same  as  those 
recorded  in  the  Gospels.  It  is  certain  too  that 
he  used  some  documents  which  he  designates 
as  "Gospels."  Now,  if  these  were  different 
from  those  we  have — i.  e.,  as  to  their  author- 
ship— then  we  have  merely  additional  accounts 
of  our  Lord's  life  and  words,  and  their  histor- 
ical reality  is  so  much  the  more  assured ;  and 
the  more  numerous  the  documents,  the  more 
is  it  assured,  since  the  greater  the  number  of 
witnesses  testifying  to  the  same  facts,  the  more 
conclusively  are  those  facts  proved.  The  same 
is  true  also  of  the  earlier  Fathers,  and  proves 
that  the  traditions  embodied  in  the  Gospels 
must  have  been  accepted  by  the  Church  in  a 
written  or  oral  form  during  the  last  twenty 
years  of  the  first  century,  and,  also,  if  there  were 
then  traditions  of  a  different  form  current,  they 
were  afterward  rejected.  But  Christ  was  cru- 
cified about  the  thirty-third  year  of  the  first 
century ;  there  was  then  an  interval  of  certain- 
ly no  more  than  forty-seven  to  sixty- seven 
years  between  his  death  and  the  first  existence 
of  those  accounts.  In  so  short  a  time  it  would 
not  have  been  possible  to  forge  such  legends, 
and  impose  them  upon  a  considerable  body  of 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  83 

men,  scattered  over  so  wide  an  expanse  of 
country  as  were  the  Christian  Churches,  and 
that  in  the  face  of  the  great  opposition  both 
of  the  Jews  and  the  heathen. 

These  considerations  justly  entitle  us  to 
claim  that  the  Gospels,  as  we  have  them,  ex- 
isted very  soon  after  Christ's  crucifixion.  We 
observe  farther : 

2.  The  narrative  bears  indisputable  evi- 
dence internally  that  it  is  genuine.  1st.  The 
confidence  with  which  the  authors  narrate  their 
story  shows  them  to  be  writers  addressing 
their  contemporaries  on  matters  well  known 
to  each.  2d.  Their  numerous  and  -minute 
allusions  to  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
time  and  nation,  and  to  the  geography  of  the 
country,  in  which  they  profess  to  have  lived, 
prove  their  genuineness.  Their  familiar  ac- 
quaintance with  the  religious  ceremonies  of 
the  Jews,  the  prevalence,  in  their  writings,  of 
words,  phrases,  and  thoughts,  derived  from 
the  Old  Testament,  prove  that  they  were  Jews ; 
and  so  as  to  their  continual  references  to  the 
ordinary  habits  of  the  people,  and  to  the  phys- 
ical characteristics  of  the  country  of  Pales- 
tine.* 

.  *  Van  Lennep,  the  acknowledged  authority  on  the  sub- 
ject, says  •("  Bible  Lands,"  p.  807)  :  "  These  facts  furnish 
an  overwhelming  argument  for  the  authenticity  of  the 


84  Positive  Evidences.  rpart.  I. 

3d.  The  language  and  style  in  which  they 
are  written  prove  the  same  thing  beyond  con- 
troversy. Greek  was  at  that  time  a  sort  of 
universal  language  as  English  is  now.  Of 
course,  when  used  by  a  nation  not  Greek,  it 
almost  certainly  became  intermixed  with  many 

Scriptures.  Not"  only  their  topography  but  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  people  therein  depicted  give  evidence 
on  every  page  that  the  Bible  was  written  in  Western  Asia, 
and  by  Asiatics,  about  the  time  claimed.  It  could  have 
been  penned  nowhere  else,  and  by  no  other  people.  So 
many  minute  and,  in  themselves  considered,  insignificant 
circumstances  are  woven  into  the  narrative  as  to  make  de- 
ceit or  imposture  an  utter  impossibility.  Let  an  Occidental 
take  up  any  Bible  narrative,  and  attempt  to  reproduce  it 
in  his  own  words  with  an  equal  degree  of  minuteness,  and 
before  many  minutes  an  Oriental  audience  would  be  sure 
to  show  unmistakable  signs  of  mirth,  on  account  of  the  in- 
congruity of  some  of  his  details.  If  he  does  not,  like  the 
colored  preacher,  speak  of  Martha  as  '  busy  frying  fritters/ 
he  cannot  well  avoid,  in  some  other  way,  showing  the  dif- 
ference which  exists  between  the  habits  of  the  West  and 
those  of  the  East.  .  .  .  And  when  we  consider  the  many 
mistakes  as  to  facts  contained  in  the  most  carefully-written 
histories  and  narratives,  and  notice,  at  the  same  time,  the 
perfect  freedom  of  the  Bible  from  all  such  mistakes,  though 
it  is  a  voluminous  and  extremely  varied  compilation,  and 
many  of  its  writers  illiterate  men,  we  cannot  avoid  the 
conclusion  that  we  have  in  the  present  case  something  be- 
yond mere  authenticity.  We  see  most  unmistakable  evi- 
dence that  the  authors  of  the  Bible  were  guided  and  con- 
trolled in  their  work  by  the  special  influence  of  that  Spirit 
which  alone  can  never  err." 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  85 

peculiarities  and  forms  of  expression  derived 
from  the  language  of  that  nation — just  as  hap- 
pens when  a  foreigner  endeavors  to  speak 
English.  Now,  the  Greek  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  not  pure  Greek,  such  as  a  native  would 
write,  but  it  is  intermixed  with  many  pecul- 
iarities such  as  belonged  exclusively  to  the  lan- 
guages called  the  East-Aramean  (or  Hebrew), 
and  West- Aramean  (or  Syriac) — the  languages 
that  were  spoken,  at  that  time,  by  the  Jeivs  in 
Palestine.  But  the  total  overthrow  of  Jerusa- 
lem by  the  Romans  in  the  year  A.D.  70 — less 
than  forty  years  after  the  crucifixion  of  Christ 
— and  the  consequent  great  slaughter  and  dis- 
persion of  the  Jews,  made  great  changes  of  all 
kinds,  and,  among  others,  changed  the  language 
greatly,  so  that  in  the  succeeding  generation, 
or  sixty  or  seventy  years  after  Christ,  it  would 
have  been  almost  impossible  to  write  in  such 
a  dialect.  Besides,  there  was  no  one  then  who 
would  have  done  so.  The  Jews  would  not 
certainly,  and  the  only  sects  remaining  in  Pal- 
estine in  the  second  century  were  Nazarenes 
and  Ebionites,  and  they  used  but  one  Gospel, 
and  that  a  translation  in  Hebrew.  They  would 
scarcely  have  forged  a  whole  New  Testament, 
and  that  too  in  Greek.  The  only  reasonable 
conclusion  is  that  the  New  Testament  was 
written  in  the  first  century,  and  by  natives  of 


86  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

Syria,  as  they  profess.  And  the  same  con- 
clusion is  borne  out  by  the  character  of  the 
style  in  which  its  books  are  written.  Plain 
and  unadorned,  the  style  of  the  Gospels  shows 
that  their  authors  were  such  as  thev  are  de- 
scribed — plain,  unlearned  men.  In  the  Epistles 
of  Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  the  learning  dis- 
played, the  strong  but  irregular  argument — 
the  learning  being  that  which  only  an  educated 
Jew  would  likely  possess,  the  whole  style  of 
argumentation  that  which  a  Jewish  convert 
confuting  his  brethren  on  ground  familiar  to 
both  would  employ — both  give  good  evidence 
that  he  is  really  the  author.  And  so  in  gen- 
eral, the  characteristics  of  both  language  and 
thought  are  those  belonging  to  the  persons, 
the  time,  and  the  occasions,  from  which  they 
claim  to  have  derived  their  origin. 

4th.  The  very  numerous  circumstances  re- 
lated in  the  New  Testament,  and  their  agree- 
ment with  the  history  of  the  times,  prove  its 
authenticity.  Whoever  undertakes  to  forge 
a  set  of  writings,  and  ascribe  them  to  persons 
who  lived  in  another  age,  exposes  himself  to 
the  utmost  danger  of  a  discrepancy  with  the 
history  and  manners  of  that  age.  Of  all  books 
there  would  be  none  so  liable  to  detection  as 
the  New  Testament,  were  it  a  forgery.  The 
scene  of  action  is  not  confined  to  a  single  city, 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  87 

but  extends  to  the  greatest  cities  of  the  Roman 
empire ;  and  continual  allusions  are  made  to  the 
various  customs  and  opinions  of  the  Greeks, 
the  Romans,  and  the  Jews.  If  then  the  New 
Testament,  after  the  severest  scrutiny,  is  found 
to  harmonize  perfectly  with  the  history,  the 
customs,  and  even  the  opinions,  of  the  first 
century,  and  if  the  more  minutely  we  inquire 
the  more  perfect  we  find  the  coincidence,  we 
must  conclude  that  it  was  beyond  the  power 
of  human  ability  to  forge  it.  Yet  such  is  the 
fact.  Space  cannot  here  be  given  to  even 
mention  those  numerous  coincidences.  The 
following,  however,  may  be  taken  as  examples 
of  them,  the  whole  number  of  which  it  has 
taken  volumes  to  set  forth  {vide  "Paley's 
Evidences,"  and  his  "  Horse  Paulinae,"  and 
"  Blunt's  Undesigned  Coincidences  "),  viz. : 
The  division  of  Palestine  into  the  three  prin- 
cipal provinces  of  Judea,  Samaria,  and  Gali- 
lee ;  the  existence  of  two  chief  religious  sects, 
the  Pharisees  and  Sadducees,  among  the  Jews 
of  that  period ;  the  standing  of  the  temple  still 
in  Jerusalem,  its  visitation  by  Jews  from  all 
parts  of  the  world,  etc.  Many  of  these  are 
presupposed  rather  than  formally  stated — just 
as  a  genuine  account  would  do — and  there  are 
more  convincingly  still  many  more  minute 
and    latent   coincidences,    abounding    in    the 


88  Positive  Evidences. 


[Part  I. 


twenty-seven  different  books  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  only  a  close  and  laborious  study 
brings  to  light.  (Vide  Paley  and  Blunt,  as 
above.)  ~No  forgery  could  so  perfectly  accom- 
plish its  work  as  this ;  and  when  we  reflect, 
in  addition,  that  those  twenty -seven  books 
were  written,  as  their  style  undeniably  shows, 
by  several  authors,  the  difficulty  of  forgery 
—  simultaneously  by  several  hands  —  is  im- 
mensely increased.  Add  to  this  the  fact  that 
the  most  adverse  criticism,  after  the  longest 
and  most  searching  seeking,  has  never  yet  suc- 
ceeded in  exposing  a  single  discrepancy  in  the 
multitude  of  their  incidental  allusions  and  mi- 
nute references  to  the  history,  customs,  man- 
ners, and  opinions,  of  Greeks,  Romans,  and 
Jews,  and  we  must  say  that  a  forgery  was 
wholly  impossible.  But  if  the  Gospels  are  not 
forgeries,  they  are  genuine,  and  were  written 
at  the  time  and  place  in  which  they  profess  to 
have  been  written. 

From  the  latter  consideration  alone  we  might 
well  come  to  this  conclusion;  but  when  we  con- 
sider with  it  also  the  force  of  all  the  other 
various  and  independent  preceding  evidences 
which  we  have  cited  in  support  of  the  same 
conclusion,  it  is  not  only  shown  to  be  probably 
true,  but  morally  certain.  ,  The  confidence  and 
familiarity  with  the  circumstances  apparent  in 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  89 

the  authors,  the  tongue  in  which  they  write — 
impossible  to  later  writers — and  the  minute 
and  perfect  coincidence  of  their  accounts  with 
the  manners,  etc.,  of  the  times  and  countries, 
would  alone  be  sufficient  to  prove  the  genuine- 
ness of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures ;  but 
when  we  add  to  all  this  their  mention,  and 
even  quotation,  and  that  without  a  single  de- 
nial from  any  quarter,  whether  Christian,  her- 
etic, Jew,  or  infidel,  by  writers  both  friendly 
and  hostile,  extending  to  within  fifty  to  seven- 
ty years,  at  the  least,  of  Christ,  we  must  con- 
clude that  the  New  Testament  was  in  existence 
in  the  countries  and  at  the  time  that  is  claimed 
for  it. 

2.  It  is  still  necessary,  however,  to  show  that 
the  New  Testament  is  a  true  account  of  the 
things  it  relates.  Thus  far  we  have  shown 
only  that  it  must  have  existed  very  soon  after 
the  crucifixion  of  Christ.  But  this  does  not 
make  it  at  once  obvious  that  it  is  therefore 
true.  To  prove  that  it  is  true  will  therefore 
be  our  next  task,  and  will  occupy  the  remain- 
der of  the  chapter.     We  argue  this  from — 

(1)  The  character  of  its  authors.  While  the 
character  of  a  witness  is  good  and  unimpeached, 
the  presumption  is  that  his  testimony  is  true. 
It  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  authors  of  the 
New  Testament  were  in  a  situation  to  know 


90  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

^concerning  the  facts  they  relate.  They  were 
the  chief  witnesses  of  some,  and  principal  act- 
ors in  others,  of  those  facts.  Their  opportuni- 
ties for  correct  information  were  therefore  the 
best  possible ;  and  that  they  were  also  honest 
and  truthful  narrators,  we  also  maintain.  For 
(vide  Row,  Bampton  Lectures,  1877),  1st.  Their 
moral  character,  though  rigidly  tested  then, 
and  closely  examined  since,  has  never  been 
impeached  by  anyone,  even  by  their  bitterest 
opponents ;  2d.  The  plainness  and  simplicity 
of  their  accounts  show  them  to  have  been  plain, 
simple  men,  unable,  if  they  wished,  to  frame  so 
vast,  so  highly  ingenious,  and  so  unrivaled,  a 
scheme  of  fraud  as  this  is,  if  it  is  an  invented 
story ;  3d.  They  had  no  interests  to  serve  in 
doing  so,  for  the  New  Testament  was  not  cal- 
culated in  any  way  to  advance  their  worldly 
interests,  but  enjoins  nothing  but  the  utmost 
unworldliness  and  self-sacrifice  on  all  its  fol- 
lowers, and  the  promulgation  of  its  principles 
actually  brought  upon  them,  throughout  their 
lives,  the  most  extreme  miseries. 

(2)  The  character  of  their  accounts  them- 
selves. 1st.  Their  whole  style  of  writing  about 
the  most  astonishing  events — e.  g.,  the  raising 
of  the  dead,  etc. — is  so  calm  and  argumenta- 
tive— almost  without  a  trace  of  emotion — as 
shows  them  to  be  any  thing  but  enthusiasts, 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  91 

and  proves  them  therefore  likely  neither  to  be 
self-deceived  nor  desirous  of  deceiving  others. 
2d.  Their  plainness  and  simplicity  in  relating 
their  own  errors  and  faults — e.  g.,  in  their  for- 
saking and  denial  of  Jesus  in  his  hour  of  great- 
est need,  as  well  as  in  telling  unreservedly  the 
lowliness  of  the  birth  and  condition  of  their 
Lord,  his  rejection  by  his  nation,  his  ignomin- 
ious execution  on  the  cross  as  a  malefactor,  etc. 
— this  simple  truth  and  frankness  apparent 
gives  good  reason  to  conclude  the  truth  of  the 
whole.  3d.  Their  entire,  substantial  agree- 
ment proves  its  truth.  They  evidently  write 
without  any  reference  to  each  other.  Their 
different  arrangements  of  the  matters  they 
relate  in  common,  their  relation  each  of  some 
facts  which  the  others  omit,  and  their  relation 
of  the  same  facts,  varying  as  truthful  witnesses 
looking  from  diverse  stand-points  always  vary, 
but  forgers  never,  prove  this.  Nevertheless, 
they  all  substantially  agree — notably,  e.  g.,  in 
the  traits  of  character  given  of  Jesus,  and  in 
the  exhibition  of  his  words  and  actions — the 
great  foundation  of  Christianity.  4th.  They  ap- 
peal themselves  to  proofs  notorious  at  the  time. 
(  Vide  1  Cor.  i.  4,  5 ;  ii.  4,  5 ;  v.  3-5 ;  xii. ;  xiii. 
8;  xiv.  1-33;  2  Cor.  xii.  7-11;  Gal.  iii.  5;  1 
Thess.  i.  5.) 

(3)  There  was  a  general  and  undisputed  be- 


92  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

lief  in  the  facts  narrated  in  the  Gospels  im- 
mediately after  the  death  of  Christ.  The  two 
Epistles  of  Paul  to  the  Corinthians,  and  those 
to  the  Romans  and  Galatians,  are  now  almost 
universally  admitted,  by  even  the  most  skep- 
tical scholars,  to  be  genuine  and  authentic,  and 
written  within  twenty- eight  years  from  the 
crucifixion  of  Christ,  as  also  the  two  to  the 
Thessalonians,  and  those  to  the  Philippians 
and  to  Philemon,  written  A.D.  55  to  A.D.  62. 
Being  letters,  they  are  of  a  species  of  docu- 
ments now  everywhere  acknowledged  to  be  of 
the  very  highest  authority,  and  being  written 
to  Churches  in  which,  as  their  contents  show, 
there  were  parties  hostile  to  Paul  (vide  Corin- 
thians, Galatians,  etc.),  by  whom  any  errone- 
ous statement  would  have  been  instantly  ex- 
posed, we  may  feel  sure  that  all  his  statements 
as  to  the  facts  and  doctrines  believed  at  that 
time  are  entirely  true.  Now,  we  find  that 
these  letters,  principally  by  their  incidental 
allusions,  but  also  by  their  direct  statements, 
assert  as  undoubted  truths  all  the  principal 
facts  related  in  the  Gospels.  1st.  They  show 
that  even  then,  less  than  thirty  years  after 
his  crucifixion,  Christ  was  generally  considered, 
both  by  Paul  himself  and  the  whole  Church, 
to  be  superhuman  and  divine;  for  in  those 
Epistles  it  is  declared  that  He  is  the  "Son  of 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  93 

God,"  "over  all  God  blessed  forever,"  our  fut- 
ure Judge ;  that  he  was  crucified ;  that  he  was 
the  object  of  prayer — the  "one  Lord"  —  that 
he  was  "preached;"  and  that  no  "other  Jesus" 
was  to  be  preached,  nor  "another  gospel." 
(Vide  1  Cor.  i.  1-3,  23,  30,  31;  iv.  1-5;  viii.; 
2  Cor.  xi.  3-5;  Gal.  i.  6-9;  Phil.  i.  15-18; 
Rom.  i.  1-4;  ix.  3-5;  xiv.  4-12.)  So  in  the 
Apocalypse,  which  is  also  admitted  to  be  gen- 
uine, He  is  made  "the  Prince  of  the  kings  of 
the  earth,"  the  "First  and  Last,"  the  Living 
One,  who  "was  dead  and  is  alive  forevermore," 
and  is  worshiped  in  heaven.  2d.  Baptism  and 
the  Supper  are  mentioned  by  Paul  as  then  ex- 
isting, Gal.  iii.  27;  1  Cor.  xi.  23-25;  the  res- 
urrection, 1  Cor.  xv. ;  the  Lord's  teaching  re- 
ferred to,  1  Cor.  vii.  10-12;  ix.  13,  14;  Christ 
is  set  forth  as  the  great  subject  of  teaching,  2 
Cor.  iv.  3-6;  iii.  18;  Phil.  iii.  8-10;  as  also  2 
Pet.  i.  8;  iii.  18;  1  Cor.  23,  24;  Eph.  iv.  20, 
21;  1  Cor.  x.  31-33;  xi.  1;  Rom.  xv.  1-3,  5, 
6;  Eph.  iv.  17-21;  Heb.  ii.  1-4.  These  and 
other  such  passages  prove — (1)  that  the  Church 
was  then  in  possession  of  some  accounts  of 
Christ ;  (2)  that  these  were  substantially  the 
same  as  in  our  Gospels ;  and  (3),  that  Christ, 
within  thirty  years  of  his  death,  was  the  great 
Object  of  their  adoration  and  imitation. 

(4)"  They  brought  many  others  into  a  like 


94  Positive  Evidences.  [part  i. 

firm  belief  of  the  things  which  they  related, 
who  before  had  even  been  enemies. 

(5)  There  have  universally  existed,  ever 
since  those  alleged  events,  certain  commem- 
orative ordinances,  or  monuments,  of  great 
celebrity,  the  observance  of  which  can  no  more 
be  accounted  for,  unless  the  facts,  on  which 
they  are  said  to  have  been  founded,  really 
happened,  than  the  observance  of  the  Fourth 
of  July  in  the  United  States,  or  Guy  Fawkes 
Day  in  England.  Such  are  Christian  Baptism, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  and  the  change,  after 
Christ's  resurrection,  of  the  observance  of  the 
seventh  day  as  a  day  of  rest  to  that  of  the 
first — all  of  which  are  evidences  of  Christ's 
life,  death,  and  resurrection,  as  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church  generally. 

(6)  All  the  testimony  that  we  have  from  pro- 
fane authors  attest  the  same  facts.  Tacitus 
says  (Annals,  66)  that  the  Christians  "took 
their  name  from  one  Christ,  who,  during  the 
reign  of  Tiberius,  was  sentenced  under  Pilate." 
Lucianus  (De  Morte  Peregrini,  c.  11,  12,  13) 
expressly  mentions  his  crucifixion,  and  calls 
Jesus  "the  great  man  who  was  crucified  in 
Palestine;"  and  again,  "the  crucified  sophist 
(or  wise  man),  who  had  been  the  author  of  a 
new  religion."  Suetonius  mentions  (in  Clau- 
dio,  cap.  25)  the  fact  of  "  the  Jews  rebelling 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility,  95 

in  Rome,  on  the  instigation  of  Christ" — a  false 
charge,  indeed,  as  alleged  against  Christ,  but 
necessarily  testifying  to  the  existence  of  Christ 
and  his  supposed  great  influence  over  the  Jews. 
And  Pliny,  A.D.  110  (Epist.  Plin.  x.  97),  says 
"that  the  Christians  were  accustomed  to  sing 
hymns  to  Christ  as  to  a  God."  Besides  these 
Romans,  Josephus,  the  Jewish  historian,  says 
"  In  those  days  lived  Jesus,  a  wise  man,  for  he 
perpetrated  several  extraordinary  works,  and 
made  many  Jews  and  heathen  his  followers. 
When  Pilate  had  condemned  him,  on  the  accu- 
sation of  our  most  prominent  men,  those  who 
first  loved  him  did  not  forsake  him.  And  to 
this  day  the  sect  of  Christians,  called  after  his 
name,  has  not  died  out"  (Ant.  xviii.  3,  3;  cf. 
5.  2,  xx.  9,  1 ;  D.  B.  J.  vi.  5,  4).  In  the  Jewish 
Mischna  also,  and  the  Gemara  (vide  Princeton 
Review,  July,  1878,  p.  118),  calumnies  against 
him  and  his  mother,  there  contained,  prove  at 
least  that  the  accounts  of  his  miraculous  con- 
ception and  immaculate  birth  were  then  gen- 
erally known.  And,  besides  all  these,  there 
are  remains  existing  of  Christian  art,  monu- 
ments, emblematical  representations,  etc.,  dat- 
ing back  to  the  time  of  the  Antonines,  A.D. 
138-180,  and  found  in  Italy — a  long  distance, 
in  those  days,  from  Palestine,  where  Chris- 
tianity first  arose — which  testify  also  to  the 


f 
96  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  I. 

same  facts.  And  the  excavations  in  Pompeii 
have,  in  our  own  day,  brought  to  light  such 
evidences  on  the  walls  that  still  stand  of  her 
ruined  houses.* 

But  Pompeii  was  destroyed  A.D.  79.  These 
remains,  then,  show  that  Christianity,  and  con- 
sequently its  doctrines  and  facts,  were  known 
that  early  in  that  distant  land.  Indeed,  the 
indisputable  fact  that  the  first  persecution 
against  the  Christians  broke  out  under  Nero, 
"in  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign"  (vide  Gibbon's 
"Decline  and  Fall,"  etc.,  ch.  ix.,  sec.  3),  proves, 
beyond  all  controversy,  that  the  Christian 
Church  was  then  in  existence  as  far  even  as 
Rome,  and  therefore  its  doctrines,  and  the  great 
facts  of  Christ's  life,  death,  and  resurrection, 
upon  which  those  doctrines  are  founded,  were 
even  then  well  known  there,  and  believed. 

(7)  Furthermore,  the  facts  thus  presented 
make  it  evident,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
case,  that  a  forged  account  would  have  been 
impossible.  As  we  have  seen,  so  early  as  A.D. 
64  —  only  about  thirty  years  after  Christ  — 

*  One  of  these  is  the  remains  of  scoffing  jests  against 
the  Christians,  scribbled  on  the  walls,  as,  for  instance,  the 
words,  "{i)gni  gaudi  (C)hristiance" — "Be  glad  for  there 
being  fire,  O  Christians  " — intended  to  mock  at  those  Chris- 
tians who  were  condemned  to  be  burnt  at  the  stake  (vide 
Row's  Bampton  Lectures). 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  97 

Christianity  had  reached  as  far  as  Rome,  and 
also  had  had  time  to  make  such  progress  there 
as  to  excite  a  persecution  against  them.  But, 
as  Row  mentions,  Sir  G.  C.  Lewis,  in  his  work 
on  the  "  Credibility  of  Early  Roman  History," 
for  the  purposes  of  a  critical  examination  into 
the  authenticity  of  the  early  Roman  traditions, 
has  shown  that  if  an  account  be  published 
within  even  eighty  or  ninety  years  of  the  time 
in  which  the  facts  it  professes  to  relate  oc- 
curred, it  is  still  within  the  period  of  genuine 
historical  tradition,  and  capable  of  having  its 
authenticity  fully  tested  by  the  knowledge  of 
those  events,  still  current  among  the  people. 
Thus,  the  battle  of  Waterloo,  or  even  the 
American  Revolution,  which  was  one  hundred 
years  ago,  may  thus  be  tested.  Many  persons 
are  living  who  have  had  the  accounts  of  those 
times  from  their  fathers,  and  some  even  of  those 
who  took  part  in  them  may  remain.  A  popu- 
lar knowledge  of  them  thus  exists  throughout 
the  countries  which  they  have  particularly  af- 
fected. Now,  it  would  be  manifestly  impossi- 
ble to  impose  upon  the  people  that  such  trans- 
actions had  not  then  taken  place.  It  would 
be  equally  impossible  to  persuade  people 
within  such  a  period  that  great  transactions 
had  then  taken  place  of  which  they  had  never 
known  personally,  nor  ever  before  heard.  But 
5 


98  Positive  Evidences.  [part  i. 

when  we  try  so  to  impose  upon  the  world,  only 
twenty  or  thirty  years  after  the  alleged  facts 
are  said  to  have  occurred,  and  persuade  peo- 
ple that  great  public  events  had  then  occurred, 
when  they  had  never  even  been  heard  of,  suc- 
cess is  surely  impossible.  Yet  this  is  what  we 
must  believe  as  to  the  history  of  the  Gospels, 
if  it  is  a  forgery.  Its  accounts  were  circulated 
certainly  as  early  as  twenty  to  thirty  years 
after  the  facts  it  relates  are  alleged  to  have 
taken  place,  and  that  too  in  the  very  country 
where  they  were  said  to  have  occurred.  Those 
accounts  state  that  those  facts  excited  the 
greatest  public  commotions  and  tumults ;  they 
recite  events  of  the  most  remarkable  and  mi- 
raculous character,  said  to  have  happened  in 
the  presence  of  multitudes ;  and  they  are  put 
forth  with  an  air  of  the  greatest  assurance 
that  those  facts  were  indisputable.  Surely,  if 
it  had  not  been  generally  known  that  they  had 
taken  place,  those  accounts  could  never  have 
obtained  credence  for  a  single  hour.  The  in- 
habitants of  Palestine  would,  on  hearing  them, 
begin  to  ask,  Hoav  was  it  they  had  never  be- 
fore heard  of  this  Jesus,  who  was  said  to  have 
traveled,  time  and  again,  only  twenty  years 
ago^or  less,  over  all  the  country,  conspicu- 
ously presenting  himself  in  all  their  most 
public  places',  preaching  constantly  in  their 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  99 

synagogues  to  the  assembled  congregations; 
driving  out  the  traders  from  the  temple ;  fol- 
lowed by  thousands  about  the  country ;  work- 
ing miracles  by  scores,  so  that  he  healed  the  sick, 
made  the  blind  to  see,  the  dumb  to  talk;  and 
even  raised  the  dead,  and  fed  the  thousands 
in  the  desert ;  at  last  was  greeted  by  the  mul- 
titudes at  their  own  great  Passover -feast  at 
Jerusalem  with  hosannas  as  their  Messiah; 
afterward  apprehended,  tried  publicly,  first  by 
their  own  chief  tribunal,  and  then  before  the 
Roman  governor ;  then  executed  on  the  cross, 
with  the  accompaniment  of  a  remarkable  dark- 
ness over  the  land,  an  earthquake,  and  the  rend- 
ing of  the  vail  of  the  temple  %  Surely,  if  they  had 
never  before  heard  of  these  things,  they  would 
have  received  such  accounts  with  contempt, 
and  rejected  them  at  once  with  scorn. 

That  they  did  not  do  so,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
in  great  numbers  received  and  believed  them, 
to  the  loss  often  of  property,  liberty,  and  life, 
proves  that  those  accounts  were  known  to  be 
true.  If  they  had  not  been  true,  moreover, 
both  the  Jews — who  from  the  first  were  most 
violent  enemies  of  Christianity,  and  the  Ro- 
mans, who,  as  we  have  seen,  soon  became  their 
most  cruel  persecutors,  having  together,  as 
they  had,  all  the  power  of  the  government,  and 
all  the  means  of  investigation  at  their  sole 


100  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

command — would  have  been  able  to  detect  and 
expose  this  imposture  of  the  poor  and  despised 
Christians,  who  had  no  resources  of  wealth  or 
power  whatever.  And  they  would  certainly 
have  done  so,  and  shown  and  put  on  record, 
as  they  could  have  done,  the  falseness  of  those 
alleged  public  and  notorious  miracles,  etc.,  of 
Jesus.  That  no  one  of  them  ever  did  it  at  any 
time  during  the  three  hundred  years  of  the 
first  period  of  Christianity,  when  it  was  perse- 
cuted throughout  the  Roman  empire  with  the 
most  dreadful  cruelty  and  bloodshed,  proves 
that  such  exposure  was  impossible,  because 
there  was  no  such  imposture.  That  the  Chris- 
tian religion  continued  to  grow  through  those 
three  hundred  years,  till  at  last  it  became  the 
mistress  of  the  empire,  proves  that  men  knew 
then  that  its  facts  were  true. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  let  us  again  weigh 
such  consideration  as  the  following,  already 
mentioned:  Its  authors  had  no  worldly  mo- 
tive to  serve  by  inventing  such  a  false  story. 
The  fact  that  it  was  not  the  established  relig- 
ion of  any  nation  for  three  hundred  years, 
makes  it  perfectly  absurd  to  suppose  it  the 
offspring  of  priestcraft  or  political  contrivance. 
Indeed,  in  its  very  character,  teaching  as  it 
does  the  utmost  self-abnegation  as  the  highest 
duty  of  man,  it  is  not  adapted  to  further  any 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  101 

worldly  interests  ;  and  in  point  of  fact,  its  pro- 
mulgation did  subject  them,  through  long 
years,  to  the  severest  sufferings.  "If  the 
apostles  were  all  honest,  they  were  incapable 
of  such  deception;  if  they  were  all  knaves, 
they  were  unlikely  to  labor  to  make  men  vir- 
tuous ;  but  if  some  were  honest,  and  some 
cheats,  the  latter  could  not  have  so  deceived 
the  former  as  to  matters  of  fact." — Home.  JSTor 
would  their  accounts  so  wonderfully  agree. 

(8)  Finally,  the  portraiture  of  Christ  which 
we  have  in  the  Gospels  could  never,  as  Row 
shows  us  (Bampton  Lectures,  1877),  have  been 
the  creation  of  any  human  genius.  As  we  shall 
see  hereafter,  some  of  the  most  eminent  skep- 
tics themselves  unite  in  declaring  that  He  is 
unquestionably  the  grandest  Character  in  his- 
tory. Mill,  in  the  last  of  his  posthumous  es- 
says, says :  "  It  is  of  no  use  to  say  that  Christ, 
as  exhibited  in  the  Gospels,  is  not  historical. 
.  .  .  Who  among  his  disciples,  or  among  their 
proselytes,  was  capable  of  inventing  the  say- 
ings ascribed  to  Jesus,  or  of  imagining  the  life 
and  character  revealed  in  the  Gospels  ?  Cer- 
tainly not  the  fishermen  of  Galilee,  certainly 
not  St.  Paul,  and  still  less  the  early  Christian 
writers,  in  whom  nothing  was  more  evident 
than  that  the  good  which  was  in  them  was  all 
derived,  as  they  all  professed  that  it  was,  from 


102  Positive  Evidences.  [part  I. 

a  higher  source."  And  so  Rousseau  asserts 
that  the  inventor  of  such  a  story  would  be  "a 
more  wonderful  character  than  the  hero." 

"It  is  a  palpable  fact  that  this  great  charac- 
ter, though  made  up  in  its  delineation  of  a 
vast  number  of  parts,  or,  in  other  words,  of  all 
the  facts  recorded  in  the  Gospels,  yet  forms 
not  a  mere  congeries  of  materials,  but  a  per- 
fect unity ;  and  no  theory  can  give  a  philo- 
sophical account  of  this  fact  except  that  the 
Gospels  are,  in  all  their  main  outlines,  truly 
historical.  That  it  was  of  deliberate  inven- 
tion, and  that  a  character  which,  as  Lecky  (a 
skeptic)  says,  has  proved  to  be  'the  greatest 
incentive  to  holiness,'  is  itself  the  product  of 
conscious  fraud,  is  so  intrinsically  incredible 
that  it  has  been  abandoned  even  by  all  the 
great  leaders  of  modern  unbelief.  Nor  could 
it  be  the  product  of  self-delusion,  or  the  ag- 
glomeration of  myths  and  legends  accumulat- 
ing in  the  course  of  time.  Its  unquestionable 
unity  and  perfection  could  never  have  so  orig- 
inated. Even  as  the  creation  of  a  single  ge- 
nius, it  has  been  said  by  Rousseau  to  have 
been  impossible ;  but  we  have  here  four  delin- 
eations, each  contributing,  and  all  necessary, 
to  the  perfect  whole.  And  if  we  suppose  it  the 
product  of  myths,  then  it  was  the  creation  not 
only  of  the  persons  who  originally  invented 


A  Or  TMf 

(    VNfVER 

Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  103 

them,  but  of  as  many  more  as  contributed  to 
them,  in  whatever  degree,  and  therefore  of  a 
large  number.  JSTow,  these  could  never  have 
so  agreed  unless  the  Personage  they  describe 
had  been  a  reality ;  for  never  have  men  been 
able  to  invent  a  character  at  once  exhibiting — 
(1)  The  most  perfect  manifestation  of  benevo- 
lence, tempered  with  holiness;  (2)  absolute 
unselfishness,  the  contrary  never  appearing  in 
a  single  act  or  word ;  (3)  the  highest  and  most 
unique  self-assertion,  united  with  the  most  per- 
fect humility ;  (4)  the  same  ideal  of  morality, 
preserved  throughout  in  all  the  Gospels ;  (5) 
in  fine,  perfect  moral  perfection,  without  one 
spot.  The  legendary  spirit  never  invented 
any  thing  of  a  moral  type  so  elevated  as  this ; 
nor,  if  it  could,  would  the  several  succeeding 
writers  have  likely  concurred  in  selecting  only 
the  elevated  myths,  and  neglecting  all  of  a  con- 
trary character ;  nor,  if  they  had,  would  such 
a  chastened  edition  of  the  legends  have  so  en- 
tirely gained  acceptance  with  the  popular  mind ; 
nor,  finally,  could  so  exquisite  a  picture  of 
moral  character  ever  have  been  formed  by 
such  a  mode  of  selection  and  simple  juxtapo- 
sition, any  more  than  a  beautiful  picture  by  a 
painter  selecting  portions  of  other  inferior 
works,  and  merely  joining  them  together.', 
Now,  to  all  the  foregoing  testimony  apply 


104  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

the  accepted  rules  governing  our  assent  to 
facts  which  are  sought  to  be  established  by- 
evidence.  "In  the  second  place  [i.  en  next  to 
the  first  general  ground  of  evidence — viz.,  our 
natural  confidence  in  testimony — as  referred 
to  in  the  preceding  chapter],  evidence,"  says 
Greenleaf  ("Evidence,"  id.  as  above),  "rests 
upon  our  general  experience  of  the  truth  of 
the  statements  of  men  of  integrity,  having  ca- 
pacity and  opportunity  for  observation,  and 
without  apparent  influence  from  passion  or 
interest  to  pervert  the  truth.  This  belief  is 
strengthened  by  our  previous  knowledge  of 
the  narrator's  reputation  for  veracity,  by  the 
absence  of  conflicting  testimony,  and  by  the 
presence  of  that  which  is  corroborating  and 
cumulative.  Again,  the  third  basis  of  evi- 
dence is  the  known  and  experienced  connection 
subsisting  between  collateral  facts  or  circum- 
stances, satisfactorily  proved,  and  the  fact  in 
controversy  .  .  .  connections  either  phys- 
ical or  moral.  In  the  actual  occurrences  of  hu- 
man life  nothing  is  inconsistent.  Every  event 
which  actually  transpires  has  its  appropriate 
relation  and  place  in  the  vast  complications 
of  circumstances,  of  which  the  affairs  of  men 
consist;  it  owes  its  origin  to  those  which  have 
preceded  it;  it  is  intimately  connected  with 
all  others  which  occur  at  the  same  time  and 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  105 

place,  and  often  with  those  of  remote  regions, 
and  in  its  turn  gives  birth  to  a  thousand  others 
which  succeed.  In  all  this  there  is  a  perfect 
harmony ;  so  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  invent 
a  story  which,  if  closely  compared  with  all  the 
actual  contemporaneous  occurrences,  may  not 
be  shown  to  be  false."  Take  these  principles 
— which,  with  that  of  our  natural  belief  in  the 
testimony  of  others,  constitute  all  the  basis  of 
evidence— and  how  strongly  do  they  singly,  and 
much  more  when  combined,  affirm  the  truth  of 
the  apostles'  testimony.  The  apostles  had  "  ca- 
pacity and  opportunity  for  observation"  most 
abundant;  they  had  no  possible  worldly  "in- 
terest to  pervert  the  truth ; "  they  have  always 
had  the  most  unimpeached  "reputation  for  ve- 
racity;" there  is  no  "conflicting  testimony" 
(though  the  Jews  and  the  Gentile  unbelievers, 
who  have  always  existed,  had  the  most  favor- 
able opportunity,  first  to  collect  it,  and  after- 
ward, from  generation  to  generation,  to  pre- 
serve it,  had  there  been  any,  against  the  hated 
Christians);  the  evidence  has  much  that  is 
"corroborative  and  cumulative;"  and,  final- 
ly, all  the  preceding  (as  we  shall  see  farther 
on),  contemporaneous,  and  succeeding,  circum- 
stances, are  in  entire  harmony  with  it.  Indeed, 
the  succeeding  history  of  the  world — the  suc- 
cess of  Christianity,  and  the  great  changes  it 


106  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

caused  in  the  nations — cannot  otherwise  be  ex- 
plained; and  all  this  occurred  too,  not  in  an 
age,  or  among  a  nation,  too  remote  from  intel- 
ligence and  civilization  for  us  to  have  any  suf- 
ficient light  by  which  to  judge  of  their  reality, 
but  in  the  most  enlightened  age  of  ancient 
times,  and  concerning  whose  transactions  we 
have  the  fullest  history. 

Still  more,  consider  these  farther  laws  of  ev- 
dence  which,  in  justice,  we  must  always  ob- 
serve in  estimating  whether  a  witness  is  guilty 
of  falsehood.  "  Where  a  criminal  charge  is  to 
be  proved  by  circumstantial  evidence  [as  must 
be  in  convicting  the  apostles  of  false  witness], 
the  proof  ought  to  be  not  only  consistent  with 
the  prisoner's  guilt,  but  inconsistent  with  every 
other  rational  conclusion.  This  presumption  is 
so  strong,  that  where  the  guilt  can  be  estab- 
lished only  by  proving  a  negative,  that  nega- 
tive must  in  most  cases  be  proved  by  the  party 
alleging  the  guilt,  though  the  general  rule  of 
law  devolves  the  burden  of  proof  on  the  party 
holding  the  affirmation"  (Greenleaf's  "Evi- 
dence," Ch.  iv.,  Sees.  34,  35).  Again  (vide  id.), 
it  is  universally  admitted  that,  in  proving  a 
case,  it  is  sufficient  to  prove  it  in  "substance," 
and  that  declarations  against  temporal  inter- 
ests, dying  declarations,  preceding  confirma- 
tory testimony,  subjection  to  cross-examina- 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  107 

tion,  and  admissions  from  the  silence  of  op- 
posers,  are  all  to  have  great  weight  toward 
establishing  a  fact.  But  all  these  marks  the 
apostles'  testimony  had.  They  all,  neverthe- 
less, testify  in  "  substance,"  to  say  the  least, 
to  the  same  facts ;  and  any  denial,  on  any  hy- 
pothesis, of  its  truth,  instead  of  being  so  "con- 
sistent with  their  guilt,  and  inconsistent  with 
every  other  hypothesis,"  as  to  overthrow  the 
presumption  of  their  innocence,  has  always 
actually  been  found  to  be  consistent  with  noth- 
ing, and  inconsistent  with  all  the  circumstances 
of  the  time  and  place. 

We  must  assent  to  the  absolute  truth  of  the 
facts  recounted  in  the  Gospel  histories.  And 
this,  with  the  preceding  chapters,  finishes  the 
first  part  of  our  work  by  establishing  the  full 
admissibility  of  the  evidence  presented  in  those 
histories  in  proof  of  the  divinity  of  Christian- 
ity, and  brings  us  next  to  consider  the  weight 
of  that  evidence  for  that  end.  That  consider- 
ation will  occupy  the  Second  Part  of  this  work, 
to  which  the  reader's  sincere  attention  will 
then  be  invited. 

Previous  to  this,  however,  we  will  briefly 
show  also  that  we  have  substantially  the  same 
accounts  which  those  authors  originally  gave. 
This  is  proved  by  the  collation  of  the  Scripture 
citations  made  by  the  various  authors  already 


108  Positive  Evidences.  [part  I. 

referred  to,  both  friends  and  opponents,  by 
the  comparison  of  the  versions  in  the  differ- 
ent languages,  but  especially  by  that  of  the 
many  ancient  manuscripts  existing  of  the  New 
Testament.  Indeed,  the  reverence  in  which 
these  sacred  books  were  held,  the  great  care 
used  to  keep  them  uncorrupted,  the  denun- 
ciations made  in  themselves  against  all  who 
should  either  "add  any  thing  to,"  or  "take  any 
thing  away,  from  the  words  written"  therein, 
would  lead  us  to  expect  no  substantial  alter- 
ation. And,  in  point  of  fact,  on  comparison 
of  all  those  citations,  all  the  various  transla- 
tions and  manuscripts,  the  latter  amounting 
to  thousands  in  number,  though  originally 
widely  scattered  over  Europe,  Asia,  and  Afri- 
ca, and  guarded  by  extreme  care  and  rever- 
ence, as  also  by  the  rival  jealousies  of  different 
nations  and  the  different  sects  into  which  the 
Church  was  early  divided,  we  yet  find  no  sub- 
stantial disagreement.  In  each  individual 
manuscript,  indeed,  are  to  be  found  mistakes 
proceeding  from  negligence,  ignorance,  or  una- 
voidable error  in  the  copyist,  who  had  always 
to  laboriously  transcribe  by  hand.  These 
are  such  as  the  following,  viz. :  Sometimes 
substituting  other  words  or  letters  in  various 
places ;  omitting,  adding,  or  transposing  words; 
incorporating  notes  and  comments  found  on 


Ch.  5.]  Competency  and  Credibility.  109 

the  margin  of  the  copy  before  them ;  in  en- 
deavoring to  correct  supposed  errors  therein ; 
and  rarely  through  manifestly  willful  corrup- 
tion. But  all,  or  nearly  all,  of  these  variations 
are  slight  and  unimportant,  and  make  no  ma- 
terial difference  in  the  meaning  of  the  text. 
Such  are — as  in  John  i,  1,  "  The  Word  was  in 
God,"  for  "with  God;"  verse  3,  "In  him  is 
life,"  for  "was  life;"  verse  5,  "The  darkness 
comprehended  him  not,"  for  "  it  not ; "  verse  7, 
omitting  "  That  all  men  might  believe  through 
him ; "  verse  9,  "  That  cometh  into  this  world," 
for  "  the  world."  Many  are  even  slighter  than 
these,  and  cannot  be  made  apparent  in  trans- 
lation. Moreover,  they  are  not  all  found  in 
any  one  manuscript;  and  thus  we  can  correct 
the  errors  in  one  by  the  agreement  found  as 
to  that  particular  part  in  the  great  mass  of  the 
other  MSS.,  as  well  as  the  other  versions  and 
citations. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  very  fact  of  these 
variations  existing  in  the  various  versions 
MSS.,  and  citations,  prove  conclusively  thai 
there  could  have  been  no  agreement  to  forge 
between  their  authors,  and  therefore  that  they 
wrote  independently  of  each  other.  But  since 
they,  nevertheless,  substantially  agree,  we 
have  in  this  the  very  strongest  proof,  both  of 
the  genuineness  and  the  uncorrupted  preser- 


110  Positive  Evidences.  [Parti. 

vation  of  the  Scriptures ;  and  this  evidence  is 
the  greater,  the  larger  the  number  of  citations, 
versions,  and  MSS.,  we  have  to  compare,  of 
the  last  of  which  there  are  thousands. 


PAET  SECOKD. 
The  Weight  of  the  Evidence— The  Superhuman  Facts. 


CHAPTER   I. 

THE    SUPERHUMAN   ADVENT   OF   CHRIST. 

We  now  come  to  consider  the  weight  of  the 
evidence  in  favor  of  the  divinity  of  Christian- 
ity. In  doing  so,  we  naturally  turn,  first,  to 
those  great  facts  of  Christ's  history,  attested 
by  the  Gospels,  which  form  the  indispensable 
foundation  of  Christianity,  and  which,  we  al- 
lege, are  not  only  true,  but  superhuman  and 
divine.  Now,  fairly  and  fully  to  determine 
the  real  origin  and  character  of  any  action  or 
event,  it  is  manifestly  proper  to  examine,  to 
the  best  of  our  ability,  not  only  the  circum- 
stances of  its  rise,  but  also  its  essential  nature, 
its  agreement  in  principle  with  other  things 
known  to  proceed  from  the  same  author  from 
which  it  professes  to  have  come,  and,  lastly, 
its  practical  influence  and  tendency  in  the  re- 
sults that  have  followed  its  occurrence  in  the 
world.     For  instance,  if  a  written  document — 

(HI) 


112  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

a  poem,  a  mathematical  paper,  or  a  business 
agreement — were  presented  to  us  as  the  work 
of  some  eminent  man,  if  its  genuineness  were 
questioned,  we  ought  to  examine,  first,  wheth- 
er its  internal  character  —  in  language  and 
sentiment,  in  mathematical  attainments,  or  in 
the  business  skill  evident — is  such  as  it  is  rea- 
sonable to  expect  from  such  a  poet,  mathema- 
tician, or  business  man,  as  the  person  whose 
production  it  is  asserted  to  be.  But,  to  test  its 
genuineness  thoroughly,  we  should  not  stop 
here,  but  proceed  farther  to  compare  the  hand- 
writing, so  far  as  we  were  able,  with  that  of 
other  documents  known  to  be  genuine.  Far- 
ther, we  should  inquire  what  verdict  other 
men,  who  have  investigated  the  subject,  have 
given,  and,  lastly,  we  should  ask  whether  it 
has  actually  accomplished  such  results  in  the 
world,  as  such  a  document,  by  such  a  man, 
would  reasonably  be  expected  to  produce.  By 
these  inquiries  we  should  scarcely  fail  of  de- 
tecting the  forgery  that  professed  to  be  a  poem 
by  Shakespeare,  a  scientific  work  by  Newton, 
or  an  important  paper  by  some  great  states- 
man, as  Jefferson  or  Pitt;  and  these  would 
comprise  all  the  questions  which  could  arise 
in  any  discussion  of  its  genuineness.  So  in 
our  examination  of  the  Evidences  of  Christian- 
ity.    The  Christian  Religion  does  not  shrink 


Ch.  1  ]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  113 

from  the  most  thorough  investigation;  nay, 
she  courts  it,  and  calls  loudly,  but  often  in  vain, 
for  an  inquiry  into  her  claims — and  that  by 
the  application  of  all  the  tests  of  truth  that 
are  in  the  nature  of  the  case  possible — secure- 
ly confident  that  a  candid  and  thorough  in- 
spection will  find  fresh  evidence  on  every  side 
that  she  is  truly  divine.  Accordingly,  we  will 
endeavor  to  consider  her  claims  in  all  their 
aspects,  and  take  up,  first,  the  superhuman 
and  divine  character  of  the  facts  presented 
in  the  history  of  Christ  (1.  The  Superhuman 
Facts)  ;  secondly,  the  superhuman  and  divine 
character  of  the  results  produced  in  the  world 
by  Christianity  (2.  The  Superhuman  Results)  ; 
and,  thirdly,  conclude  with  a  recapitulation 
and  summing  up  of  the  whole  evidence  and 
argument,  and  with  an  estimation  of  its  weight 
in  favor  of  the  divinity  of  the  Christian  relig- 
ion (3.  Recapitulation  and  Conclusion). 

First,  then,  let  us  consider  the  superhuman 
facts.  Under  this  head  are  ranged,  succes- 
sively, the  superhuman  advent,  the  character, 
the  teaching,  the  prophecies,  and  the  miracles 
of  Christ.  Each  of  these,  it  is  claimed,  proves 
beyond  a  reasonable  doubt  the  divinity  of 
Christianity ;  while  all  combined,  as  they  are 
in  the  evidence  of  Christianity,  together  with 
the  proof  also  afforded  by  the  results  follow- 


114  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

ing,  give  an  irrefutable  and  convincing  evi- 
dence of  its  divine  nature. 

In  offering  that  evidence,  it  is  assumed  that 
man  is  capable  of  distinguishing  what  is  su- 
perhuman and  divine.  We  can  reasonably 
estimate — from  history,  from  observation,  and 
from  self-consciousness — what  is  possible  to 
merely  human  powers.  We  can  therefore  tell 
what  is  superhuman,  and  thus  be  capable  of 
judging  of  the  divine  character  of  any  thing 
that  may  be  presented  to  us  which  claims  that 
character.  Besides,  as  Van  Oosterzee  trulv 
says  ("  Dogmatics,"  p.  124),  "  If  God  can  give 
a  revelation,  he  can  also,  without  doubt,  make 
it  so  plainly  recognizable  as  such  that  he  who 
receives  it  will  not  have  the  slightest  shadow 
of  doubt  on  this  point."  Indeed,  it  cannot  be 
easily  imagined  that  God  would  create  us  for 
his  worship,  and  yet  give  us  no  capacity  to 
recognize  his  voice ;  nor  that  in  our  sore  need 
of  a  revelation  from  him,  he  would  leave  us 
without  ability  to  distinguish  that  revelation, 
or  to  know  the  marks  of  divinity  when  they 
were  present.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  gen- 
eral consent  of  mankind  admits  the  capacity 
of  human  powers  to  distinguish  the  divine. 
At  any  rate,  they  who  deny  the  divinity  of 
Christianity,  do  so  since  such  a  denial  cannot 
be  made  without  the  implied  claim  that  they 


Ch.  l.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  115 

can  distinguish  between  what  is  divine  and 
what  is  not.  What  they  claim  for  themselves 
they  will  probably  not  deny  to  others :  the 
friends  of  Christianity  distinctly  claim  it  for 
all ;  and  therefore  we  assume  that  it  will  not 
be  disputed  by  any  that  man  has  the  capacity 
of  recognizing  the  divine ;  and  we  proceed  to 
present  the  grounds  of  such  a  recognition  in 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity. 

The  consideration,  then,  that  will  now  en- 
gage our  attention  is  the  superhuman  and  di- 
vine character  of  the  facts  of  Christ's  personal 
history ;  and  under  this  general  head,  first,  the 
coming  of  Christ  into  the  world.  This,  we 
claim,  was  in  all  its  circumstances  of  a  char- 
acter truly  superhuman  and  divine,  and  proves 
him  to  be  a  Divine  Person,  that  took  upon 
himself  also  the  nature  of  man.  To  perceive 
this,  let  us  consider — 

I.  The  careful  preparation  made  for  the  advent 
of  Christ.  The  introduction  of  Christianity 
(yideY&n  Oosterzee's  "Dogmatics,"  pp.  458- 
585)  was  not  fortuitous ;  it  did  not  spring  up 
by  chance,  and  without  expectation  or  design, 
but  after  long  and  careful  preparation. 

1st.  Its  announcement  is  made  continually 
throughout  the  preceding  ages — at  first,  at  the 
very  threshold  of  the  history  of  fallen  man,  in 
the  promise  given  to  Adam,  that  "the  seed 


116  Positive  Evidences.  [part  IL 

of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  serpent's  head" 
(Gen.  iii.  15),  and  repeated  in  ever  clearer  terms, 
successively,  to  Abraham,  "  In  thy  seed  shall 
all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed  "  (Gen. 
xxii.  18);  to  Jacob,  "The  scepter  shall  not  de- 
part from  Judah  .  .  .  till  Shiloh  come  "  (Gen. 
xlix.  10)  ;  to  Moses,  "  The  Lord  thy  God  shall 
raise  up  unto  thee  a  Prophet  .  .  .  like  unto 
me  "  (Deut.  xviii.  15)  ;  and  afterward  to  David, 
Isaiah,  Malachi,  etc.,  through  a  period  of  thou- 
sands of  years.  Abraham  and  his  family,  also, 
were  set  apart  from  all  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
chiefly  that  there  might  be  "a  people  prepared 
for  the  Lord; "  and  so,  to  prepare  them,  there 
were  given  for  their  discipline — (1)  Their  slav- 
ery in  Egypt  for  four  hundred  years,  which, 
by  its  oppressions,  put  them  in  opposition  to 
heathendom,  both  historically  and  by  cultivat- 
ing in  their  very  hearts  an  abhorrence  of  it ; 
(2)  the  Mosaic  system ;  (3)  the  reigns  of  the 
kings ;  (4)  the  sending  of  the  prophets ;  (5) 
the  coming  of  the  great  Forerunner,  John  the 
Baptist. 

1.  In  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  "the  law  was 
their  school-master  to  bring  them  to  Christ," 
exciting  in  them  the  notion  of  sin,  and  an  ab- 
horrence of  it,  through  the  sacrifices  and  other 
ceremonies  enjoined.  These  also  had  a  pro- 
phetic meaning,  and  prefigured  Christ,  as  did 


Ch.  l.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  117 

also  the  whole  system  of  Moses.*  Thus  con- 
trition for  sin  was  cultivated  at  the  same  time 
with  the  expectation  of  redemption  among  the 
Jews,  while  the  miraculous  deliverances  expe- 
rienced from  time  to  time  in  their  history,  by 
Israel,  were  intended  also  to  be  a  revelation  to 
the  heathen  world  (vide  Ex.  xv.  14-16 ;  Deut. 
ii.  25,  etc.)  of  the  existence,  omnipotence,  and 
will,  of  Jehovah.  Thus  the  Mosaic  dispensa- 
tion made  ready  both  Jews  and  heathen  for  the 
coming  of  Christ. 

2.  So  also  with  the  reigns  of  the  kings. 
Under  them  the  house  of  Judah,  from  which 
Christ  was  to  arise,  is  brought  forward  in  the 
sovereignty  of  David,  and  first  occupies  its 
leading  position,  while  the  existence  of  the 
kingdom  itself  points  to  the  everlasting  king- 
dom of  the  spiritual  Israel  and  its  everlasting 
King,  its  glory  and  dominion  to  the  spiritual 
conquests  of  Christ;  the  Psalms  of  its  great 
monarch  David,  meantime,  minister  to  the 
spiritual  elevation  of  the  people,  and  add  strik- 
ing prophecies  of  the  coming  Messiah  (vide  Ps. 
xvi. ;  xxii. ;  xl. ;  lxix.,  etc.)  ;  and  the  great  tem- 
ple created  by  David's  son  and  successor,  Sol- 

*  "  The  entire  Old  Testament  is  one  great  Prediction,  one 
great  Type,  of  Him  who  should  come." — Be  Wette  (quoted 
in  Van  Oosterzee's  "  Dogmatics  ").  Cf.  whole  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews. 


118  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

omon,  gives  emphasis  to  all.  And  when  at 
last,  in  the  decline  of  the  kingdom,  there  came, 
first  the  captivity  in  Babylon,  and  then  the 
final  fall  under  the  Roman  power,  there  was 
cultivated  in  the  people  a  longing  for  that  De- 
liverer who  was  to  come,  and  for  the  predicted 
restoration  and  triumph  of  Israel ;  so  that  we 
find  in  fact,  that  at  the  coming  of  Christ  there 
were  holy  men  and  women  actually  "  waiting 
for  the  Consolation  of  Israel." 

3.  The  prophets  too,  arising  in  a  constant 
succession,  from  the  time  of  Samuel  to  the  re- 
turn from  the  captivity,  by  their  work  in  edu- 
cating the  people  up  to  Christianity,  directly 
prepared  for  the  coming  of  Christ.  For  this 
purpose  they  dwelt  upon  the  spirituality  of 
God's  law  (vide  Isa.  i.  11-18;  lviii.  1,  etc.),  and 
the  universality  of  his  kingdom  (vide  Hos.  iii. 
4,  5 ;  Isa.  ii.  2-4,  etc.),  in  contradiction  of  the 
formality  and  intense  exclusiveness  generally 
prevalent  among  the  Jews,  but  in  perfect  con- 
formity to  the  gospel  of  Christ,  both  in  its  de- 
mands for  inward  purity  and  its  extension  of 
God's  mercy  to  Gentiles  as  well  as  Jews.  The 
prophets  also  prepared  the  way,  with  ever-in- 
creasing distinctness,  for  the  acceptance  of  the 
true  idea  of  the  Messiah  to  come — of  his  char- 
acter, his  life,  and  his  work.  (Cf.,  in  the  order 
of  time  in  which  they  were  written,  Joel  ii.  28 


Ch.  l.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  119 

-33;  Mic.  v.  1-4;  Isa.  vii.  4;  ix.  1-6;  xi.  1-10; 
liii. ;  Jer.  xxxi.  30-34;  Dan.  ii.  44;  vii.  13,  14; 
Zech.  vi.  12,  13;  ix.  9;  Hag.  ii.  6-9;  Mai.  iii. 
1-4;  v.  6.)  Thus  the  prophecies  were,  for  the 
contemporaries  of  the  prophets,  a  source  of  in- 
struction, comfort,  and  strength ;  for  the  con- 
temporaries of  the  Lord,  the  touch -stone  by 
which  they  could  recognize  the  Christ  (vide 
John  i.  45)  ;  and  for  the  Christian  Church  they 
remain  a  great  and  enduring  proof  of  the  di- 
vinity of  their  religion,  and  the  pledge  that  its 
promised  salvation  also  will  in  the  end  be  fully 
realized. 

4.  Finally,  the  Forerunner,  John,  who  was 
also  the  greatest  of  the  prophets,  was  sent  pur- 
posely to  "  prepare  the  way  of  the  Lord."  His 
character  and  life  are  fully  attested  not  only  by 
the  Gospels,  but  also  by  Josephus,  and  cannot 
be  doubted ;  and  they  were  most  plainly  adapt- 
ed to  effect  among  the  Jews  the  work  of  prepa- 
ration for  Christ.  The  manner  of  his  birth,  his 
unexpected  reappearance  after  his  long-contin- 
ued silence  in  the  wilderness,  and  his  rigid  and 
austere  manner  of  life,  all  must  have  made  a 
deep  impression  upon  all  who  were  "waiting 
for  the  Consolation  of  Israel."  His  preaching, 
in  its  denunciation  of  the  sins  of  the  people,  in 
its  announcement  of  Him  that  "  was  to  come" 
and  His  glory,  and,  at  length,  in  its  directly 


120  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

pointing  out  among  the  people  the  "  Lamb  of 
God,"  opened  the  way  to  thousands  to  receive 
Christ;  while  his  baptism  of  Christ  was  this 
public  and  formal  "manifestation"  of  him  to 
Israel ;  and  afterward,  even  his  premature 
death,  and  his  influence  after  death,  helped 
on  the  work  of  Christ.  (  Vide  Luke  vii.  29,  30 ; 
Acts  xix.  1-6.) 

2d.  Within  heathendom  also  the  work  of 
preparation  had  been  going  on.  1.  God  had 
already  given  to  the  heathen  that  general  rev- 
elation which  everywhere  appears  in  the  works 
of  nature,  the  teachings  of  history,  and  by  the 
inward  voice  of  conscience,  testifying,  as  they 
do,  to  the  existence  of  God,  his  rule,  and  his 
justice.  The  appearance  and  labors  of  such 
great  men  among  them  as  Pythagoras,  Socra- 
tes, Plato,  Seneca,  etc.,  by  which  the  lessons  ca- 
pable of  being  drawn  forth  from  those  sources 
were  deduced  and  disseminated,  tended  un- 
mistakably to  bring  about  not  merely  a  moral 
but  a  truly  religious  civilization,  and  thus  to 
prepare  for  Christianity.  But  the  diversity 
of  views  which  existed  among  them,  their  own 
uncertainty  in  the  most  important  matters, 
the  incompleteness  of  the  best  of  their  sys- 
tems, their  lack  of  authority,  their  inability 
to  adapt  their  teachings  to  the  capacity  of  the 
general  mass  of  men,  and  the  small  practical 


Ch.  l.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  121 

effect  of  those  teachings  on  the  lives  of  even 
the  philosophers  themselves  and  their  few  dis- 
ciples, all  called  forth  a  deep  longing  for  supe- 
rior guidance — for  light  from  above,  such  as  it 
was  evident  no  philosopher  or  priest  could  kin- 
dle for  the  enlightenment  of  men — and  thus 
again  heathendom  was  prepared  for  the  recep- 
tion of  Christ,  the  "  Light  of  the  world ; "  and 
in  remarkable  accordance  with  this,  we  find  the 
traces  of  an  expectation  of  salvation  from  the 
East  (cf.  Plato,  Alcibiades,  book  2,  and  De  Re- 
pub.,  II.;  the  myth  of  Prometheus;  Virgil's 
Fourth  Eclogue;  Tacitus,  Ann.,  5,  13,  etc.). 
2.  Especially  by  Israel  had  God  prepared  the 
Gentile  world.  Their  wonderful  national  deliv- 
erances, widely  known  as  they  were  to  other 
nations,  and  their  journeyings  (vide  Ex.  xv. 
6 ;  Josh.  ii.  10 ;  ix.  24)  ;  their  exile  for  seven- 
ty years  in  Babylon  (vide  Daniel) ;  the  work 
of  some  of  their  prophets  in  foreign  countries 
(vide  1  Kings  xvii. ;  2  Kings  v. ;  Jonah  ;  Dan- 
iel ;  Jer.  xxxvii.  7-9 ;  xxxix.  15-18,  etc.)  ;  their 
dispersion  into  Egypt,  Babylon,  Syria,  Greece, 
and  Rome ;  above  all,  their  Holy  Scriptures, 
in  the  Greek  translation  especially,  scattered 
far  and  wide  over  the  heathen  world — all  these 
had  carried  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  through- 
out the  nations,  and  had  prepared  them  for  the 
coming  of  Christ.    3.  The  subjection  of  a  great 


122  Positive  Evidences.  [Partn. 

part  of  the  world  to  Rome  had  broken  down 
the  walls  of  separation  that  had  existed  be- 
tween the  nations,  and  thus  made  it  compara- 
tively easy  to  carry  the  gospel  from  land  to 
land.  The  Greek  language,  moreover,  in  which 
the  Gospels  were  written,  had  spread  over  the 
world,  and  become  a  kind  of  universal  lan- 
guage, and  thus  again  the  rapid  and  universal 
spread  of  the  Scriptures  was  made  easy.  So 
that  just  at  the  time  when  the  world,  weary 
and  miserable  with  the  ills  of  the  times  and 
the  helplessness  of  humanity,  instinctively 
longed  for  the  Christ,  and  even  looked  for  the 
approach  from  the  East,  there  coincided  with 
them  the  greatest  means  and  facilities  for  his 
coming,  and  for  the  propagation  of  his  truth.* 

*  Thus  Van  Oosterzee,  from  whom  the  above  is  substan- 
tially though  not  altogether  literally  quoted.  So  Westcott 
(Introduction,  etc.,  ch.  i.),  who  still  more  elaborately  pre- 
sents the  same  views,  in  showing  how  the  Jews,  by  the  va- 
rious changes  in  their  history,  had  become  fitted  to  propa- 
gate a  universal  gospel,  while  simultaneous  corresponding 
changes  in  heathendom  fitted  the  heathen  nations  to  receive 
it,  says :  "  The  several  phases  of  partial  and  independent 
development  were  now  completed.  Judaism  had  now  ex- 
isted in  the  face  of  the  most  varied  nationalities,  and  had 
gained  an  elasticity  of  shape  without  losing  its  distinctness 
of  principle.  .  .  .  Conquest  swept  away  gradually  the 
barriers  by  which  the  world  was  divided ;  .  .  .  the  power 
of  paganism  everywhere  gave  way;  .  .  .  the  old  tem- 
ples were  deserted,  and  the  speculations  of  philosophy  had 


Ch.  L]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  123 

The  "  fullness  of  time"  had  come,  and  Christ 
comes  "the  center  of  history,  the  pivot  on  which 
the  whole  plan  of  God  moves."  His  greatness, 
his  indispensability  to  man  becomes  apparent, 
while  the  utter  failure  of  all  the  greatest  of 
human  efforts  disposes  the  nations  to  embrace 
him  as  their  only  hope. 

II.  From  all  this  we  argue  that  the  advent 
of  Christ  was  supernatural  and  divine.  We 
next  assert  it  from  the  evidence  of  prophecy. 
Prophecy  is  "  a  miracle  of  knowledge,  and  the 
highest  evidence  that  can  be  given  of  a  reve- 
lation from  God"  (Home).  If,  then,  we  can 
show  that  there  were  prophecies  of  the  coming 
of  Christ  existing  long  prior  to  that  event,  we 
must  admit  that  his  coming  had  something 
about  it  that  was  supernatural  and  divine. 
Such  prophecies  existed.  It  is  disputed  by  no 
one  that  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  ex- 
isted at  least  as  early  as  B.C.  265,  at  or  before 
which  time  the  Greek  translation  of  it,  called  the 
Septuagint,  was  undoubtedly  made.  But  the 
Old  Testament,  existing  thus  at  least  two  and  a 

all  led  to  blank  skepticism.  .  .  .  But  Greece  had  left  a 
universal  literature  and  language,  Rome  had  founded  a 
universal  empire.  .  .  .  There  was  a  vague  presentiment 
that  a  new  period  was  near.  .  .  .  And  in  the  East  that 
hope  rested.  A  missionary  nation  [the  Jews]  was  [thus] 
waiting  to  be  charged  with  the  heavenly  commission,  and 
a  world  was  unconsciously  prepared  to  welcome  it." 


124  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

half  centuries — or  as  long  as  the  first  settle- 
ment of  the  United  States  to  the  present  time 
— before  Christ,  contains  many  predictions  of 
his  coming,  his  character,  his  life,  and  his 
death.  In  them  are  predicted  some  things 
seemingly  very  unlikely,  and  in  a  complicated 
and  connected  series  of  events.  They  are, 
moreover,  predicted  not  all  by  a  single  indi- 
vidual, but  some  by  one  and  some  by  another 
prophet — at  long  intervals  of  time  and  place — 
in  a  comparatively  rude  and  ignorant  age  and 
nation.  And  they  are  numerous — so  numer- 
ous, indeed,  that  we  have  not  here  space  to 
refer  even  to  all,  nor  to  any  at  length.  The 
following,  however,  may  suffice  to  show  the 
wonderful  nature  of  these  prophecies,  fulfilled, 
as  a  comparison  of  the  Gospel  history  will 
show  they  were,  minutely  and  exactly  so  many 
years  afterward.  1.  It  was  predicted  (Gen. 
xlix.  10)  that  Christ  should  come  before  the 
scepter  should  "depart  from  Judah,"  and 
(Hag.  ii.  6-9 ;  Mai.  iii.  1)  before  the  destruction 
of  the  second  temple.  And,  accordingly,  our 
Lord  came  just  when  the  Romans  did  utterly 
take  away  the  government  from  the  tribe  of 
Judah ;  and  he  preached  in  that  temple  which 
about  forty  years  afterward  was  totally  de- 
stroyed. 2.  It  was  foretold  that  he  should  be 
born  in  the  town  of  Bethlehem,  and  of  the 


Ch.  l.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  125 

tribe  of  Judah  (Micah  v.  2) ;  of  a  virgin  (Isa. 
vii.  14) ;  and  of  the  family  of  David  (Isa.  ix. 
6,  7 ;  xi.  1,  2).  3.  Also,  that  he  would  be  with- 
out outward  power  or  influence  to  attach  the 
world  to  himself  (Isa.  liii.  1-3) ;  and  "  a  stone 
of  stumbling  and  an  offense  "  (Isa.  viii.  14,  15); 
yet  the  chief  corner-stone  of  the  Church  (Isa. 
xxxviii.  16) ;  and  that  upon  this  rock  the  Jews 
should  fall,  and  be  broken  to  pieces  (Isa.  viii. 
14,  15).  Again,  that  he  should  preach  the 
gospel  to  the  poor,  instruct  the  Gentiles,  and 
heal  the  blind  and  the  sick  (Isa.  vi.  9-11 ;  xliii. 
1,  etc.) ;  that  he  should  give  himself  a  ransom 
for  many,  be  numbered  with  the  transgressors, 
be  mocked,  and  scorned,  and  rejected  of  men, 
yet  make  his  grave  with  the  rich  in  his  death 
(Isa.  liii.).  Moreover,  he  was  not  to  lie  in  the 
grave,  nor  see  corruption  (Ps.  xvi.  10);  but 
to  rise  again  on  the  third  day  (Hos.  vi.  2;  cf. 
with  Matt.  xx.  19,  etc.);  and  to  ascend  into 
heaven,  and  there  reign  at  his  Father's  right- 
hand  with  universal  dominion  (Ps.  xvi.  11 ; 
lxviii.  18;  Isa.  ix.  7). 

All  these  were  perfectly  fulfilled  by  our 
Saviour,  and  he  and  his  apostles  continually 
appealed  to  their  fulfillment,  before  the  unbe- 
lieving Jews,  as  the  evidence  that  he  was  their 
promised  Messiah.  It  is  evident  that  if  either 
no  such  prophecies  had  before  existed  among 


126  Positive  Evidences.  [Part" II. 

the  Jews,  or  if  the  facts  of  his  birth,  life,  and 
death,  had  at  all  deviated  from  these  prophe- 
cies, the  Jews,  those  bitter  enemies  of  Chris- 
tianity, would  instantly  have  exposed  the  im- 
posture, and  at  once  and  forever  have  silenced 
its  advocates.  But  they  could  not,  and  these 
wonderful  prophecies  remain,  with  their  fulfill- 
ment, an  unanswerable  evidence  of  the  superhu- 
man and  divine  nature  of  the  coming  of  Christ. 
III.  His  miraculous  conception  and  birth 
by  a  virgin  attests  it.  For  this  great  fact  we 
have  the  evidence  not  only  of  the  prophecy 
already  cited,  and  also  the  testimony  of  the 
writers  of  the  New  Testament,  but  still  farther 
the  personal  testimony  of  Mary  and  of  Christ. 
That  of  Mary  was  impliedly  given,  since  no 
contradiction  of  it  by  her  appears  in  the  Gos- 
pels ;  and,  doubtless,  given  expressly  also, 
since  from  no  one  else  could  the  account  of  the 
circumstances  of  his  birth  at  first  have  become 
known.  And  Christ  did  so  testify,  not  only 
impliedly,  but  substantially  in  express  terms, 
asserting  that  he  "  came  down  from  heaven 
.  .  .  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me" 
(John  vi.  38) ;  that  he  was  "  the  living  Bread 
which  came  down  from  heaven,"  and  asking 
the  unbelieving  Jews,  "What  and  if  ye  shall 
see  the  Son  of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was 
before?"  (id.,  vs.  51,  62,  etc.).     This  testimony 


Ch.  i."j  Weight  of  the  Eoidence.  127 

is  of  the  greatest  weight.  In  fact,  if  his  birth 
was  not  thus  miraculous,  then  we  must  be- 
lieve, on  the  other  hand — awful  conclusion  as 
it  is,  and  such  as  few  infidels  even  have  ever 
ventured  to  advance — that  Mary  was  both  an 
impudent,  shameless  woman,  and  an  author  of 
falsehoods,  and  that  of  the  most  tremendous 
blasphemy;  and  that  Christ  was  the  son  of 
impurity,  and  himself  an  utterer  of  falsehood 
and  blasphemy.  And  yet  we  are  to  believe 
that  Christ,  though  of  such  origin,  and  nur- 
tured by  such  a  woman,  and  himself,  speaking 
lies,  was  yet  what  he  is  now,  as  we  shall  see, 
acknowledged  by  all  to  have  been — the  one 
Perfect  Man  of  all  the  earth,  upon  whose  un- 
approachable superiority  of  life  and  teaching 
was  founded  the  Christian  Church — incompar- 
ably the  purest  and  most  powerful  agency  for 
good  that  has  ever  appeared.  In  the  utter 
impossibility  of  this,  the  only  alternative,  and 
in  the  absence  of  even  the  charge  of  such  dar- 
ing deceit  and  impiety,  on  the  testimony  of  the 
Scriptures,  of  Mary,  and  of  Christ,  the  com- 
mon principles  of  evidence  demand  that  we 
admit  the  fact  as  proved.  And  this  fact,  to- 
gether with  those  of  the  prophecies  of,  and  the 
preparation  made  for,  the  coming  of  Christ  into 
the  world,  prove  that  that  coming  was  in  a  man- 
ner that  was  truly  supernatural  and  divine. 


128  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    SUPERHUMAN   CHARACTER   OF  CHRIST. 

We  next  inquire  concerning  the  moral  charac- 
ter of  Christ,  and  ask  whether  it  corresponds 
to  such  a  claim,  and  possesses  such  traits,  as 
confirm  his  divine  descent.  We  expect,  if  a 
man  claims  to  be  of  uncommonly  superior  ori- 
gin, to  find  evidence  of  the  fact  not  only  from 
the  external  testimonies  he  may  bring  us,  but 
also  in  the  man  himself — in  his  appearance,  his 
manners,  his  characteristics  of  mind  and  dispo- 
sition. Much  more  is  this  the  case  if  he  who 
presents  himself  before  us  asserts  that  he  is 
sprung  from  a  race  of  beings  superior  to  men 
— an  angel,  or  from  a  God.  If,  on  examination 
of  the  actions  and  words  narrated  of  him,  we 
found  the  same  human  imperfections  as  are 
common  to  man,  we  should  at  once  decide  that 
his  claim  was  false.  The  test  is  a  proper  one, 
and  by  it  we  can  rightly  decide  the  falsity  of 
the  pretensions  of  all  the  heroes  of  the  pagan 
religions  (as  Hercules,  etc.)  to  divine  descent. 
The  histories  given  of  them  show  them  to  pos- 
sess the  common  frailties  of  humanity,  and  in 
most,  if  not  all,  cases  to  possess  also  its  gross- 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  129 

est  vices.  Probably  the  inventors  of  their  his- 
tories would  have  made  them  better  if  they 
could ;  but  it  is  an  old  observation,  illustrated 
by  the  literature  of  every  country,  that  human 
powers  cannot  paint  a  portrait  above  the  hu- 
man in  beauty  of  moral  character.  The  stream 
cannot  rise  above  its  source ;  imperfection  will 
cling  to  this,  as  to  every  other  work  of  human 
skill ;  without  a  previous  revelation  of  such  a 
superhuman  being,  there  will  have  been  no 
model  from  which  to  draw ;  and  the  authors, 
though  they  be  the  Homers  and  Virgils  of 
imagination  and  invention,  must  leave  their 
heroes  marred  by  many  a  fault,  and  even  their 
heavenly  gods  and  goddesses  disfigured  with 
many  an  impurity  and  imperfection.  We  have 
a  right,  then,  to  expect,  if  Christ  is  divine,  that 
his  character  and  life  shall  appear,  evidently, 
to  be  above  all  that  is  merely  human. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  are  just  as  much 
bound,  in  truth  and  honesty,  to  acknowledge 
his  divinity  if  we  do  find  his  character  thus 
to  be  superior  to  all  that  is  human.  The  one 
duty  is  as  clear  and  obligatory  as  the  other. 
If  the  skeptic  has  the  right  to  demand,  for 
the  establishment  of  Christ's  divinity,  that  we 
bring  forth  in  proof  his  possession  of  a  super- 
human character,  it  is  surely  our  right,  when 
that  proof  has  been  produced,  to  demand  un- 
6* 


130  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

hesitating  assent  to  the  fact  so  established  by 
its  evidence. 

What,  then,  are  the  characteristic  traits  of 
Christ's  moral  nature?  Are  they  such  as, 
marked  by  the  imperfections  universal  to 
mere  human  nature,  show  that  he  too  was  no 
more  than  man  ?  Or  are  they  free  from  all 
blemish  ?  and  perfect  in  nature  and  in  variety 
of  attributes,  do  they  proclaim  One  who  was 
himself  perfect — One  far  removed  above  mere 
imperfect  humanity — One  who  was  truly  di- 
vine? For  reply  we  have  the  history  of  his 
life,  given  by  four  different  authors,  in  the 
Gospels  of  the  New  Testament  Scriptures.  In 
them  his  character  is  simply,  but  very  com- 
pletely, delineated.  He  is  presented  to  us  un- 
der the  most  trying  circumstances  conceivable 
— of  the  most  various  kinds,  and  of  the  greatest 
number.  The  very  mission,  so  unique  and  so 
great,  which  he  undertook,  at  once  exposed  him 
to  the  severest  scrutiny,  and  from  its  very  nat- 
ure made  success  to  be  most  difficult  to  attain. 
Claiming  to  be  the  long-promised  Messiah  of 
the  Jews,  he  had  to  fulfill  not  only  the  circum- 
stances of  birth,  origin,  etc.,  predicted  of  the 
Messiah's  life,  but  also  the  various  traits  of 
character  foretold  of  Him  that  was  to  come. 
Claiming  to  be  perfectly  holy,  he  had  to  ex- 
hibit unspotted  sanctity  of  life.     Claiming  to 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  131 

be  divine,  he  had  to  display  superhuman  wis- 
dom, and  power,  and  goodness.  Yet  the  Gos- 
pels exhibit  him,  for  more  than  three  years  of 
his  life,  under  the  most  trying  circumstances, 
wholly  unmarred  by  a  single  shadow  of  im- 
perfection. Standing  in  the  most  diverse  and 
changing  relations  with  foes  and  friends,  with 
relatives  and  strangers,  with  the  common  peo- 
ple and  the  most  learned,  with  Jews  and  Sa- 
maritans, with  Greeks,  and  Romans,  and  Syr- 
ians— in  contact  with  all  kinds  of  life,  in  the 
country,  the  city,  the  desert,  and  upon  the  sea 
— before  the  populace  and  before  judges,  in 
peace  and  in  conflict,  at  rest  and  at  labor,  in 
sorrow  and  in  joy,  at  the  feast  and  at  the  buri- 
al, in  triumph  amid  the  acclamations  of  the 
multitude  as  he  entered  a  King  into  Jerusa- 
lem, and  on  trial  for  his  life  before  Caiaphas 
and  before  Pilate — ministered  to  by  loving 
women,  and  scourged  by  the  soldier's  lash — at 
Bethany  and  upon  Calvary :  in  all  these  he  is 
presented  to  us  under  almost  every  conceiv- 
able circumstance;  and  yet,  neither  when 
harassed  by  enemies,  nor  when  relaxed  in  the 
presence  of  ministering  and  adoring  friends, 
does  either  his  wisdom  or  his  goodness  ever 
forsake  him,  or  betray  the  faintest  sign  of  any 
imperfection.  Neither  vanity  on  one  side,  nor 
bitterness  on  the  other ;  neither  worldly  am- 


132  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

bition  nor  any  thirst  for  revenge ;  no  taint  of 
impurity,  falsehood,  selfishness,  or  hate,  nor, 
withal,  the  least  diminution  of  dignity  and  re- 
spect for  self,  was  ever  beheld.  In  all  he  stood 
alone ;  perfect  and  entire,  he  towered  far  above 
all  that  is  merely  human,  and  remained  un- 
touched and  unreached  by  human  weakness  or 
human  infirmity.     He  was  divine. 

To  illustrate  this  by  examples  drawn  from 
his  history  wrould  occupy  more  space  than  can 
here  be  afforded ;  to  fully  show  it,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  consider  every  incident  and  all 
his  words  and  actions,  and  transcribe,  with 
comments,  the  whole  of  the  Gospels.  Mani- 
festly, nothing  like  this  can  be  appropriate 
here.  We  can  only  refer  the  reader  to  that 
Life  generally,  and  challenge  the  severest  crit- 
icism to  find  one  blemish  therein.  Hitherto 
his  most  acute  and  bitter  enemies  have  failed 
to  find  one ;  but  many,  as  we  shall  see,  have 
been  forced  to  testify  in  his  favor.  With  that 
fact  before  us,  we  add,  as  sufficient  additional 
proof  of  what  we  claim,  the  following  evidence : 

1.  Man  never  before  even  imagined  such  a 
character ;  nor  is  it  possible  to  imagine  one  su- 
perior. Neither  (cf.  Rogers's  "Supernatural 
Origin  of  the  Bible")  in  Greek,  nor  Roman,  nor 
Jewish,  nor  any  other  history  or  literature,  can 
there  be  found  the  elements  of  another  such 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  133 

character,  real  or  fictitious.  Man  never  has 
painted,  and  never  can  paint,  another  such  a 
One,  by  whom  the  challenge  may  safely  be 
given,  "Which  of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin?" 
In  his  practical  goodness,  in  his  intellectual 
greatness,  and  in  his  self-abnegation,  Christ 
surpasses  all  the  ideals  of  men,  as  in  his  work 
he  has  exceeded  their  greatest  heroes  in  prac- 
tical importance  to  the  world.  In  an  age  of 
unexampled  corruption,  a  moral  standard  was 
erected  by  One  Man — a  Jewish  peasant,  con- 
victed and  executed  as  a  felon — which  has  been 
ui) approached  before  and  since,  and  which  we 
cannot  even  conceive  it  possible  to  be  excelled.  And 
still  more  remarkable,  if  possible,  this  has  not 
been  in  vain,  but  has  been  ever  since,  and  still 
is,  the  mightiest  moral  agent  for  good  to  be 
found  among  men. 

2.  His  divine  character  is  proved  from  the 
superhuman  influence  for  good  that  he  has 
exerted.  To  quote  substantially  from  Row 
(Bampton  Lectures,  1877),  "  Present  facts,  no 
less  than  the  unquestionable  facts  of  history, 
prove  that  Christ  stands  on  an  elevation 
which,  among  the  sons  of  men,  is  solitary  and 
alone.  Our  experience  of  man,  extending  over 
at  least  three  thousand  years,  with  ample  op- 
portunity of  observation,  enables  us  to  know 
well  what  is  in  man,  and  what  man's  powers 


134  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

can  accomplish :  if  therefore  the  greatness  of 
Christ  were  the  result  of  their  activity,  it  is 
clear  that  during  this  long  interval  of  time 
they  must  have  produced  other  men  at  least 
approaching  his  greatness. 

"The  life  of  Christianity  consists,  most  re- 
markably and  absolutely  uniquely,  in  the  his- 
tory of  man — not  in  a  body  of  moral  precepts 
or  dogmas,  a  ritual,  or  a  system  of  philosophy, 
but  in  a  personal  history.  We  may  take  from 
Brahmanism,  Buddhism,  Mohammedanism,  or 
any  of  the  philosophical,  political,  or  social 
systems  that  have  ever  existed  among  men, 
or  from  any  of  the  various  sects  even  in  the 
Christian  Church,  the  personal  history  of  their 
founders,  and  yet  they  would  remain,  substan- 
tially unaffected,  the  same  as  before.  But  if 
from  Christianity  we  take  the  personal  history 
of  Christ,  his  life,  death,  and  resurrection,  we 
take  from  it  its  all.  No  other  system  has  ever 
pretended  to  be  founded  on  a  Person,  and  the 
events  of  that  Person's  life,  instead  of  a  body 
of  dogmatic  statements.  But  the  supreme  at- 
tractiveness of  the  Person  of  the  Founder  of 
Christianity  has  imparted  to  the  Church  the 
whole  of  its  vitality.  To  this  fact  all  history 
bears  witness.  Nor  is  its  testimony  less  cer- 
tain that,  of  all  the  influences  that  have  been 
exerted  in  this  earth,  that  of  Jesus  has  been 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  135 

the  most  potent.  Enumerate  all  the  great 
men  who  have  ever  existed,  whether  they  be 
kings,  conquerors,  statesmen,  poets,  philoso- 
phers, or  men  of  science,  and  their  influence 
for  good  will  be  found  to  be  as  nothing  com- 
pared with  that  which  has  been  exerted  by 
Jesus  Christ.*  .  .  .  He  who  was  in  outward 
form  a  Galilean  peasant,  who  died  a  malefac- 
tor's death,  has  founded  a  spiritual  empire 
which  has  endured  for  eighteen  centuries  of 
time,  and  which,  despite  the  vaticination  of 
unbelievers,  shows  no  sign  of  decrepitude. 
Commencing  with  the  smallest  beginnings,  his 
empire  now  embraces  all  the  progressive  races 
of  men.  Those  by  whom  it  has  not  been  ac- 
cepted are  in  a  state  of  stagnation  and  decay. 
It  is  the  only  one  which  is  adapted  to  every 
state  of  civilization.  It  differs  from  all  other 
states  and  communities  in  that  it  is  founded 
neither  on  force  nor  self-interest,  but  on  per- 
suasion and  the  supreme  attractiveness  of  the 
character  of  its  Founder.  The  holiest  of  men 
have  bowed  before  him  with  the  supremest 
reverence,  and  have  accepted  him  as  a  King 

*  The  acknowledgment  of  Napoleon,  on  St.  Helena,  will 
here  be  remembered,  when,  comparing  the  littleness  of  his 
own  dominion,  already  past,  and  those  also  of  Alexander, 
Caesar,  etc.,  with  the  wide  extension  and  durability  of  that 
of  Christ,  he  declared  that  Christ  alone  was  divine. 


136  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

who  is  entitled  to  reign  by  right  of  inherent 
worthiness,  and  with  the  greater  eagerness  in 
proportion  to  their  holiness"  (pp.  93,  94). 

3.  We  farther  adduce  the  testimony  of  his 
opposers.  The  one  catholic  man,  the  one  ideal 
of  humanity,  even  his  enemies  are  forced  to 
praise  him.  The  skeptical  historian,  Lecky 
("  History  of  Morals,"  Vol.  II.,  ch.  8),  says: 
"  It  was  reserved  for  Christianity  to  present 
to  the  world  an  ideal  character  which,  through 
all  the  changes  of  eighteen  centuries,  has  filled 
the  hearts  of  men  with  an  impassioned  love, 
and  has  shown  itself  capable  of  acting  on  all 
ages,  nations,  temperaments,  and  conditions; 
has  not  only  been  the  highest  pattern  of  vir- 
tue, but  the  highest  incentive  to  its  practice, 
and  has  exerted  so  deep  an  influence  that  it 
may  be  truly  said  that  the  simple  record  of 
three  short  years  of  active  life  has  done  more 
to  regenerate  and  to  soften  mankind  than  all 
the  disquisitions  of  philosophers,  and  than  all 
the  exhortations  of  moralists.  This  has  indeed 
been  the  well-spring  of  whatever  has  been 
best  and  purest  in  the  Christian  life.  Amid 
all  the  sins  and  failings,  amid  all  the  priest- 
craft, the  persecution,  and  fanaticism  which 
have  defaced  Christianity,  it  has  preserved  in 
the  character  and  the  example  of  its  Founder 
an  enduring  principle  of  regeneration." 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  137 

But,  argues  Row,  what  other  character,  real 
or  ideal,  among  men,  has  (1)  "for  eighteen 
centuries  filled  the  hearts  of  men  with  an  im- 
passioned love?"  Has  Socrates,  Zoroaster,  or 
Mohammed  ?  or  any  ideal  character,  even  the 
greatest,  of  Homer,  or  Virgil,  or  Shakespeare? 
(2)  What  other  has  thus  "acted  on  all  ages, 
nations,  and  temperaments?"  Has  Shakes- 
peare? Who  is  impelled  to  self-sacrifice  for 
the  love  of  Shakespeare?  (3)  Or,  who  else 
has  "  presented  the  highest  pattern  of  virtue  ?" 
(4)  Or,  in  himself  is  "  the  highest  incentive 
to  its  practice?"  (5)  Or,  has  ever  been  "an 
enduring  principle  of  regeneration"  to  his  sys- 
tem ?  Has  any  heathen  ?  any  apostle  even  ? 
or  any  Father  of  the  Church?  Nay,  Christ 
alone  has  been  able  to  accomplish  such  things. 
All  others,  even  the  very  best,  of  all  ages  and 
nations  together,  have  not  been  able  to  equal 
him.     Can  it  be  doubted  that  he  is  divine  ? 

Again,  "  In  Christ,"  says  Chubb,  an  avowed 
infidel,  "we  have  an  example  of  a  quiet  and 
peaceable  spirit,  just,  honest,  upright,  and  sin- 
cere, and,  above  all,  of  a  most  gracious  temper 
and  behavior — one  who  did  no  injury  to  any 
man,  in  whose  mouth  there  was  no  guile,  who 
went  about  doing  good.  His  life  was  a  beau- 
tiful picture  of  human  nature  in  its  native 
purity  and  simplicity,  and  showed  at  once 


138  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  IT. 

what  excellent  creatures  men  would  be  when 
under  the  influence  and  power  of  that  gospel 
which  he  preached  unto  them."  Again,  Rous- 
seau exclaims,  "  What  sweetness,  what  purity 
in  his  manners  !  What  an  affecting  graceful- 
ness in  his  delivery !  What  sublimity  in  his 
maxims !  What  profound  wisdom  in  his  dis- 
courses! What  presence  of  mind  in  his  re- 
plies! How  great  the  command  over  the 
passions !  Where  is  the  man,  where  is  the 
philosopher,  who  could  so  live  and  so  die  with- 
out weakness  and  without  ostentation  ?  .  .  . 
Shall  we  suppose  the  evangelic  history  a  mere 
fiction?  Indeed,  my  friend,  it  bears  not  the 
marks  of  fiction.  On  the  contrary,  the  history 
of  Socrates,  which  nobody  presumes  to  doubt, 
is  not  so  well  attested  as  that  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Such  a  supposition,  in  fact,  only  shifts  the  dif- 
ficulty without  removing  it;  for  it  is  more 
inconceivable  that  a  number  of  persons  should 
agree  to  write  such  a  history  than  that  only 
one  should  furnish  the  subject  of  it.  The 
Jewish  authors  were  incapable  of  the  diction, 
and  were  strangers  to  the  morality,  contained 
in  the  gospel,  the  marks  of  whose  truth  are 
so  striking  and  inimitable  that  the  inventor 
would  be  a  more  astonishing  character  than 
the  hero."  Finally,  we  add  the  testimony  of 
one  of  the  most  intellectual  of  unbelievers, 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  139 

John  Stuart  Mill.  He  says  ("  Three  Essays  "), 
"  It  is  the  Grocl  Incarnate  more  than  the  God 
of  the  Jews  who,  being  idealized,  has  taken 
so  great  and  salutary  a  hold  on  the  modern 
mind.  And  whatever  else  may  be  taken  away 
from  us  by  rational  criticism,  Christ  is  still 
left — a  unique  figure  not  more  unlike  all  his 
predecessors  than  all  his  followers." 

Such  testimony  from  witnesses  so  incapable 
of  partiality  toward  Christianity,  and  so  capa- 
ble intellectually  of  correct  judgment,  could 
have  been  called  forth  only  by  the  superhuman 
and  irresistible  beauty  and  grandeur  of  the 
character  of  Christ.  In  itself  it  is  a  strong- 
proof  of  his  divinity,  and,  together  with  the 
preceding  evidences  to  the  same  fact,  is  a  suf- 
ficient proof.  "  The  forces  which  energize  in 
the  moral  and  spiritual  world  act  in  conform- 
ity with  the  moral  laws  no  less  than  those 
which  dominate  in  the  physical  universe  do 
with  physical  laws ;  and  therefore  an  event  in 
the  moral  universe,  of  the  origin  of  which  the 
forces  energizing  in  man  can  give  no  account, 
is  a  moral  miracle." — Bow.  We  know  from  uni- 
versal history  and  literature  what  the  "  forces 
energizing  in  man"  can  produce  of  human 
character  and  human  life ;  we  have  seen  how 
impossible  it  is  for  them  to  produce  such  an- 
other character  and  life  as  that  of  Christ ;  and 


140  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

we  must  conclude,  therefore,  that  his  appear- 
ance upon  the  stage  of  human  history  was  "an 
event  in  the  moral  universe,  of  the  origin  of 
which  the  forces  energizing  in  man  can  give 
no  account " — "  a  moral  miracle  " — and  proves 
him  to  be  superhuman  and  divine. 

This  might  be  justly  thought  to  be  sufficient; 
but  we  farther  cite,  in  connection  with  this  sub- 
ject— 

4.  The  testimony  of  Christ  to  himself.  In 
doing  this,  we  violate  no  rule  of  evidence.  His 
enemies  being  judges,  we  have  found  him  to 
be  irreproachably  holy,  supremely  great,  and 
spotlessly  true.  His  testimony,  then,  is  wor- 
thy to  be  received,  and  to  be  fully  credited. 
Besides,  such  evidence  is  now  everywhere  ad- 
mitted. By  a  late  and  very  proper  change  in 
jurisprudence  (cf.  Princeton  Review,  July,  1878, 
p.  154,  etc.),  the  testimony  of  parties  in  inter- 
est is  now  generally  received.  The  weight  of 
their  testimony  is  left  to  be  decided  according 
to  each  one's  credibility,  his  disinterestedness, 
conscientiousness,  and  intellectual  ability;  and 
this  is  felt  to  be  right,  inasmuch  as  otherwise 
the  very  parties  who  alone  could  know  best 
about  the  matter  in  question,  though  of  the 
highest  integrity,  are  excluded. 

But  it  is  allowed  on  all  hands,  as  we  have 
seen,  that  Christ,  in  all  the  qualities  of  great- 


Ch.  2.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  141 

ness  of  intellect,  perfect  uprightness  of  life, 
and  purity  of  heart,  is  wholly  un approached 
by  any  other  who  has  ever  lived  on  earth. 
His  testimony,  then,  upon  the  common  princi- 
ples of  evidence,  though  given  in  reference  to 
himself,  his  divine  origin,  and  his  mission,  is 
entitled  to  the  very  greatest  weight.  As  such 
we  cite  it  in  support  of  his  divinity,  and  ask 
candid  attention  to  the  following,  among  oth- 
ers, of  his  words  and  acts : 

1.  He  acquiesced  without  denial  in  Nicode- 
mus's  declaration,  that  he  was  "a  teacher  come 
from  God"  (John  iii.  2);  2.  He  directly  de- 
clared to  the  Samaritan  woman  that  he  was 
"Messias"(Johniv.26);  3.  He  "  made  himself 
equal  with  God"  (John  vi.  35,  38);  4.  He  as- 
serted that  he  had  "come  down  from  heaven" 
(John  vi.  35,  38) ;  5.  That  he  was  the  source 
of  everlasting  life  to  men  (John  vi.  47-56); 
6.  He  assented  to  the  declaration  that  he  wTas 
" Christ  the  Son  of  the  living  God"  (John  vi. 
68,  69);  7.  And  declared  that  he  "proceedeth 
forth,  and  came  from  God"  (John  viii.  42)  ;  8. 
And  that  " before  Abraham  was,  I  am"  (John 
viii.  58) ;  9.  That  "J  and  my  Father  are  one," 
and  "the  Father  is  in  me,  and  I  in  him  "(John 
x.  30,  38) ;  "As  the  Father  knoweth  me,  even 
so  know  I  the  Father"  (John  x.  15);  and  "/ 
give  unto  them  eternal  life"  (John  x.  28);  10. 


142  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

He  "knew  that  he  was  come  from  God,  and 
went  to  God"  (John  xiii.  3);  11.  Commanded 
his  disciples,  "Ye  believe  in  God,  believe  also 
in  me"  (John  xiv.  1) ;  12.  Said  that  "he  that 
hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the  Father"  (John  xiv. 
9)  ;  13.  Acknowledged  himself  to  be  the  "Son 
of  God"  (Luke  xxii.  70;  cf.  also  parallel  pas- 
sages) ;  14.  And  said  to  the  disciples,  "Receive 
ye  the  Holy  Ghost"  at  the  same  time  breathing 
upon  them,  and  imparting  him  to  them. 

This  and  such  like  testimony  he  repeatedly 
gave  of  himself.  Now,  either  he  was  willfully 
a  false  witness,  or  mistaken,  or  else  his  testi- 
mony was  true.  If  false,  then  was  he  the  most 
awfully  perjured  and  blasphemous  man,  and 
the  most  injurious  to  his  race  of  all  that  have 
ever  lived;  if  mistaken,  then  the  most  de- 
ceived. But  we  see  that  even  unbelievers  ac- 
knowledge  him  to  be,  far  above  all  comparison, 
both  the  most  profound  in  intellect  and  the 
most  holy  in  life  of  all  men.  The  only  rational 
explanation,  then,  of  his  testimony — the  only 
possible  solution  consistent  both  with  his  char- 
acter and  with  all  the  circumstances  of  his  life 
— is  that  it  was  true,  and  that  he  was  really 
divine ;  and  we  therefore  add  this  evidence  of 
his  own  testimony  of  himself,  to  prove  what  we 
claim  for  him — that  in  his  very  character  he 
also  evidently  appears  to  be  divine. 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence,  143 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE    SUPERHUMAN   TEACHING   OF   CHRIST — I. 
ITS   REASONABLENESS. 

Next  we  call  attention  to  the  teaching  of 
Christ,  as  exhibiting,  in  its  unrivaled  wisdom, 
fullness,  and  power,  a  character  utterly  un- 
known to  that  of  any  other  teacher  that  has 
ever  appeared — proving  thereby  that  it  is  more 
than  human,  and  is,  as  it  claims  to  be,  divine. 
We  have  already  seen,  in  the  First  Part  of 
this  work,  how  confessedly  imperfect  and  un- 
satisfying have  been  the  reasonings  of  all,  even 
the  greatest  of,  merely  human  moralists  and 
philosophers.  In  the  most  striking  contrast 
stands  the  teaching  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
"Never  man  spake  like  this  man."  There  is 
nowhere  any  appearance  or  shadow  of  folly  or 
mistake,  but  always  the  profoundest  wisdom^ 
There  is  nowhere  any  incompleteness  or  un- 
certainty, but  in  every  thing  unfathomable 
fullness,  perfect  sufficiency,  and  the  most  con- 
fident assurance ;  and  among  no  people,  with 
no  class  of  men  or  women,  and  under  no  cir- 
cumstances of  life,  whether  of  age  or  youth,  of 
adversity  or  prosperity,  of  barbarism  or  of  the 


144  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

highest  and  most  complicated  civilization,  has 
his  teaching  ever  ceased  to  exercise,  through 
all  the  centuries  since  first  it  was  given  to  the 
world,  its  wonderful  power  to  elevate  and  en- 
noble the  humamheart. 

"A  hundred  years  ago  a  distinguished  com- 
pany of  eminent  men  was  assembled  in  a  draw- 
ing-room in  Paris.  Again,  as  it  was  customary 
in  that  circle,  Holy  Scripture  had  been  the 
general  drudge;  from  all  sides  the  sharp  and 
envenomed  arrows  of  mockery  were  aimed  at 
it.  At  once  one  of  the  boldest  among  these 
free-thinkers — the  famous  Diderot — rose  from 
his  seat,  and,  to  the  general  amazement  of  the 
company,  said:  'All  right,  gentlemen,  all  right! 
I  am  ready  to  declare  all  of  you  clever  writers 
and  competent  judges,  and  few  in  France  or 
abroad  would  be  able  to  speak  or  write  better 
than  you  do.  But  still,  notwithstanding  all 
the  evil  we  have  just  been  saying  about  this 
accursed  Book,  and  which,  no  doubt,  serves  it 
right,  still  I  think  I  might  defy  any  of  you  to 
compose  an  historical  tale  so  ingenious,  and  at 
the  same  time  so  sublime,  so  touching,  and  fit 
to  produce  such  a  deep  and  lasting  influence 
for  centuries  to  come,  as  the  Gospel  relation 
of  Christ's  sufferings  and  death.'  JSTo  wonder 
an  unwonted  but  most  significant  silence  fol- 
lowed."   This  story — given  by  Van  Oosterzee, 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  145 

in  an  article  in  the  Princeton  Bevieiv  of  July, 
1878,  the  truth  of  which  there  seems  no  reason 
to  doubt — serves  to  bring  out  in  measurable 
relief  the  superhuman  character  of  the  Gos- 
pels. For  what  author  has  ever  written,  or 
will  dare  to  pretend  he  could  write,  any  his- 
tory rivaling  it?  But  what  is  beyond  human 
achievement  is  superhuman,  and  therefore  we 
claim  that  the  gospel  is  divine. 

To  j^ove  this  at  large,  let  us  compare  the 
main  teachings  of  Christianity,  first  with  those 
of  the  leading  philosophers  both  of  ancient  and 
modern  times,  and  next  with  the  known  consti- 
tution and  course  of  nature,  manifested  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  things  in  the  world  around 
us.  In  their  agreement  with  both  of  these,  we 
shall  see  their  entire  reasonableness;  in  their 
analogy  to  the  latter,  we  shall  behold  the  evi- 
dence that  the  same  all-wise  and  all-powerful 
Creator,  who  is  nature's  Maker,  is  also  the  Au- 
thor of  Christianity;  and  in  their  incompara- 
ble superiority  to  the  teachings  of  both  philos- 
ophers and  nature,  we  shall  see  that  they  are 
superhuman  and  divine. 

I.  A  sufficient  view  (Part  I.,  Ch.  3)  of  the 
defects  and  vices  of  all  the  schemes  of  the  phi- 
losophers has  already  been  shown.  No  such 
imperfections  have  ever  been  pointed  out  in 
the  teachings  of  Christ ;  and  from  this  single 
7 


146  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

superiority  of  being  free  from  the  human  in- 
firmity everywhere  else  apparent,  we  might 
justly  claim  that  it  is  divine.  But  this  is  still 
more  strikingly  apparent  in  the  superiority  it 
manifests  when  compared,  not  with  the  defects, 
but  with  the  best  achievements  of  their  rea- 
sonings. To  show  that  it  does  possess  such  a 
superiority  is  not  difficult,  and  to  do  so  will  be 
our  duty  before  leaving  this  part  of  our  gen- 
eral subject.  First,  however,  it  is  proper  to 
show  that  Christianity  is  in  entire  agreement 
with  reason  and  nature,  and  therefore  consist- 
ent with  divine  wisdom;  afterward  we  shall 
consider  its  superiority  to  both. 

The  agreement  of  the  doctrines  taught  by 
Christ  with  reason  is  proved  by  their  accord- 
ance with  the  conclusions  of  the  greatest  rea- 
soners,  both  ancient  and  modern,  that  have 
ever  lived.  To  see  this  distinctly,  let  us  briefly 
recall  what  are  the  principal  truths  that  were 
taught  by  Christ. 

These  may  be  stated  to  consist  in :  1.  The 
unity  of  God.  2.  The  depravity  of  man.  3. 
The  immortality  of  the  soul ;  together  with  the 
following,  given  by  Coleridge  ("Aids  to  Reflec- 
tion, "  p.  146),  as  peculiar  to  Christianity  alone, 
viz. :  4.  "  That  a  mean  of  salvation  has  been 
effected  and  provided  for  the  human  race  by 
the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  in  the  per- 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  147 

son  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  his  life  on  earth, 
his  sufferings,  death,  and  resurrection,  are  not 
only  proofs  and  manifestations,  but  likewise 
essential  and  effective  parts,  of  the  great  re- 
demptive act,  whereby  also  the  obstacle  from 
the  corruption  of  our  nature  is  rendered  no 
longer  insurmountable.  5.  That  the  appropri- 
ation of  this  benefit  is  possible  by  repentance 
and  faith,  including  the  aids  that  render  an 
effective  faith  and  repentance  themselves  pos- 
sible. 6.  That  there  is  a  reception  (by  as  many 
as  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation)  of  a  living  and 
spiritual  principle,  a  seed  of  life,  capable  of 
surviving  this  natural  life,  and  of  existing  in 
a  divine  and  immortal  state.  7.  That  there  is 
an  awakening  of  the  spirit  in  them  that  truly 
believe,  and  a  communion  of  that  spirit  thus 
awakened  with  the  Holy  Spirit.  8.  That  there 
are  accompanying  and  consequent  gifts,  graces, 
comforts,  and  privileges  of  the  Spirit,  which, 
acting  primarily  of  the  heart  and  will,  cannot 
but  manifest  themselves  in  suitable  works  of 
love  and  obedience — that  is,  in  right  acts,  with 
right  affections,  from  right  principles.  9.  That 
these  works  are  the  appointed  signs  and  evi- 
dences of  our  faith,  and  that,  under  limitation 
of  the  powers,  the  means,  and  the  opportuni- 
ties afforded  us  individually,  they  are  the  rule 
and  measure  by  which  we  are  bound  and  en- 


148  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

abled  to  judge  of  what  spirit  we  are.  10.  That 
God  beholds  us,  and  will  finally  judge  us  with 
a  merciful  consideration  of  our  infirmities,  a 
gracious  acceptance  of  our  sincere  though  im- 
perfect strivings,  and  a  forgiveness  of  our  de- 
fects, through  the  mediation  of  the  man  Christ 
Jesus,  even  the  Word,  that  was  in  the  begin- 
ning with  God,  and  who,  being  God,  became 
[also]  man  for  the  redemption  of  mankind." 

1st.  That  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  are 
reasonable,  appears  from  their  very  nature. 
"This  world  [vide  Wayland's  "Moral  Science"" 
is  a  universe  governed  by  law ;  if  by  physical 
laws,  then  by  moral  law  also,  since  the  world 
of  morals  has  its  existence  and  laws  in  the 
universe  as  well  as  the  physical  world.  Their 
violation,  then,  must  as  certainly  be  visited 
with  retribution  as  that  of  physical  laws,  some- 
time and  somehow.  Therefore,  since  such  ret- 
ribution often  does  not  happen  here,  it  must 
hereafter;  therefore  there  is  a  future  life,«and 
that  life  is  retributive."  Again,  "The  obliga- 
tion of  supreme  love  to  God  is  reasonable: 
1.  He  is  our  Creator  and  Preserver.  2.  He 
unites  within  himself  every  perfection  that 
can  possibly  exist.  3.  His  creative  power  and 
his  infinite  wisdom  have  been  exerted  for  the 
production  of  our  best  good.  4.  Therefore  he 
has  the  right  over  us  of  unlimited  possession* 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  149 

5.  And  of  our  highest  love  and  gratitude.  6. 
Therefore,  since  the  universe  is  governed  by 
law,  we  can  attain  happiness  only  by  discharg- 
ing those  obligations  (since  the  violation  of 
every  law  or  duty  is  attended  with  punish- 
ment). 7.  Or  mutually  render  each  other  hap- 
py, since  to  do  so  it  is  necessary  for  all  to  be 
under  the  control  of  a  supreme  Power,  and  to 
fulfill  the  law  of  love  to  each  other. 

"The  duty  of  prayer  also  is  evident.  For, 
1.  We  are  powerless,  ignorant  of  the  future, 
dependent,  and  miserably  sinful.  2.  We  con- 
tinually receive  blessings  from  God,  to  whom 
we  should  also  render  continual  thanks.  3. 
Its  exercise  is  necessary  to  our  well-being  here, 
since  the  temper  and  frame  of  mind  (as  peni- 
tence, faith,  devotion,  etc.)  it  must  imply  and 
exercise  is  essential  to  our  progress  in  virtue. 
Those  of  benevolence,  of  justice,  of  truth,  of 
chastity,  and  of  filial  obedience,  are  no  less 
apparent ;  while  those  also  of  the  Sabbath,  of 
hearing  the  word  of  Grod,  of  public  worship, 
etc.,  are  not  difficult  to  be  seen." 

This  reasoning,  drawn  from  a  modern  mor- 
alist, to  whose  conclusions,  however,  no  one 
without  the  light  of  revelation  ever  attained 
with  any  certainty,  fullness,  or  consistency, 
shows  the  reasonableness  of  Christianity  in 
the  nature  of  the  case  itself. 


150  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

2d.  The  agreement  of  the  deductions  of  some 
of  the  greatest  intellects  of  the  human  race 
with  -the  doctrines  of  Christianity  show  that 
the  latter  are  not  contrary  to  reason,  but  whol- 
ly reasonable,  and  worthy  of  our  acceptance. 
From  among  the  many  illustrious  thinkers 
who  might  be  brought  forward  to  prove,  by 
their  writings,  this  agreement,  our  space  per- 
mits hs  here  to  cite  only  those  that  are  great- 
est— Plato  and  Aristotle  among  the  ancients, 
and  Descartes,  Locke,  and  Hunt,  among  the 
moderns. 

1.  Plato  teaches  (vide  Ueberweg's  "  History 
of  Philosophy,"  sections  41  and  43)  that  "  The 
highest  object  of  knowledge  is  the  Idea  of  the 
Good.  This  Idea  is  supreme,  and  the  cause  of 
all  truth  and  beauty.  Every  thing  which  ex- 
ists, and  is  knowable,  has  received  from  God, 
who  is  the  Idea  of  the  Good,  its  existence  and 
ability  to  be  known,  because  he  knew  that  it 
was  better  that  it  should  exist  than  that  it 
should  not  exist."  He  also  teaches  that  the 
world  must  have  had  a  beginning  (vide  Tim., 
pages  28,  29):  "God's  goodness  is  the  reason 
of  the  construction  of  the  world,  and  being 
therefore  without  envy,  he  planned  all  things 
so  that  they  should  be  as  nearly  as  possible 
like  himself."  The  soul  is  immortal ;  the  high- 
est good  is  not  pleasure,  nor  knowledge  alone, 


Ch.  g.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  151 

but  the  greatest  possible  likeness  to  God,  as  the  ab- 
solutely good ;  and  the  possession  of  that  good 
is  happiness.  Most  striking  is  the  resem- 
blance of  the  picture  he  draws  of  the  purely 
righteous  to  the  character  and  life  of  our  Lord 
(De  Repub.,  360,  361) :  "  He  has  the  ring  of 
G}Tges,  that  gives  invisibility ;  he  has  power  to 
do  all  evil  with  impunity  and  without  reproach, 
yet  is  he  righteous  still.  He  may  have  the 
very  opposite  of  this  impunity,  but  unjustly 
receive  the  reputation  of  unrighteousness,  and 
with  no  means  of  reversing  the  unjust  decision, 
yet  is  he  righteous  still.  He  may  be  made  to 
endure  the  severest  pains  with  no  prospect  of 
deliverance,  either  now  or  at  any  other  time, 
yet  is  he  righteous  still.  Finally,  what  may 
such  a  man,  in  such  circumstances,  expect  from 
his  fellow-man  ?  *  The  righteous  man,  in  this 
state,  will  be  scourged,  he  will  suffer  dislocat- 
ing tortures,  he  shall  be  bound  with  cords,  and 
finally,  after  suffering  all  evils,  shall  be  impaled, 
or  crucified.' "  Compare  only  these  wonderful 
utterances  of  what  this  master-mind  conceived 
to  be  required  by  true  reason  with  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible  as  to  the  character  and  attri- 
butes of  God,  the  nature  of  man,  and  the  true 
end  of  life,  together  with  its  account  of  the 
actual  life  of  Christ  as  the  ideal  man,  and  how 
well  satisfied  may  we  be  that  Christianity, 


152  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

both  as  to  its  doctrines  and  as  to  the  facts  of 
the  life  upon  which  it  founds  its  hopes,  is  en- 
tirely consistent  with  the  demands  of  the  high- 
est reason. 

2.  The  like  truth  is  shown  also  by  what 
Aristotle,  the  great  opponent  of  Plato's  system 
in  general,  deduced  as  the  necessary  conclu- 
sions of  reason  (Ueberweg,  sees.  48-50) :  "  In 
the  sphere  of  existence  we  find  included  that 
which  is  perpetually  moved,  and  that  which 
both  moves  and  is  moved ;  there  exists  there- 
fore a  third  existence,  which  is  always  impart- 
ing motion,  but  is  itself  unmoved.  This  is 
God,  the  immaterial  and  eternal  Form,  the  pure 
Actuality,  in  which  is  no  potentiality,  the  self- 
thinking  Reason,  or  absolute  Spirit,  who,  as  abso- 
lutely perfect,  is  loved  by  all,  and  into  the  image 
of  whose  perfection  all  things  seek  to  come.  He 
occupies  the  very  highest  place  in  the  scale  of 
being,  is  without  parts,  is  the  Good;  not  a 
iinal  product  of  development,  but  the  eternal 
prius  of  all  development.  The  highest  good 
for  man  is  happiness.  This  depends  on  the 
rational  or  virtuous  activity  of  the  soul  through- 
out the  whole  of  its  life.  The  highest  among 
the  virtues  is  justice,  or  righteousness.  Man's 
only  worthy  activity  is  honorable  and  virtuous 
activity,  and  the  highest  happiness  is  connect- 
ed with  the  highest  virtue."     Such  are  the  de- 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  153 

ductions  of  these  two  ancient  masters,  in  per- 
fect conformity  (except  their  opposite  ideas  of 
the  chief  good  of  man,  which,  however,  is  of 
small  moment,  since  both  make  virtue  and 
happiness  inseparable)  with  each  other  and 
with  the  truths  of  revelation.  Let  us  now 
turn  to  the  moderns. 

3.  We  first  take  Descartes,  the  father  of 
modern  philosophy  (Ueberweg,  sec.  114) :  "He 
seeks  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  God  and 
the  existence  of  the  soul  as  an  independent 
entity,  separable  from  the  body.  .  .  There 
must  be  a  first  cause,  which  is  God,  and  among 
the  necessary  attributes  of  God  belongs  the 
love  of  truth.  God  cannot  wish  to  deceive," 
hence  clear  and  distinct  knowledge  is  attain- 
able by  man.  "God  is  the  absolutely  perfect 
being.  In  the  conception  of  God  there  is  con- 
tained necessary,  perfect,  and  eternal  exist- 
ence. Only  one  substance  can  be  conceived 
as  plainly  needing  nothing  else  in  order  to  its 
existence,  namely,  God,  for  we  plainly  perceive 
that  all  others  cannot  exist  without  God's  as- 
sistance. He  attributes  to  matter  nothing  but 
extension  and  modes  of  extension,  but  no  in- 
ternal states,  or  forces.  Pressure  and  impul- 
sion (coming  from  God),  the  sum  of  which,  in 
the  universe,  is  invariable,  must  suffice  for  the 
explanation  of  all  phenomena.  The  most  per- 
7* 


154  Positive  Ecidences.  [Part  II. 

feet  of  all  emotions  is  intellectual  love  to  God. 
Virtue  depends  on  the  control  of  the  passions 
by  wisdom." 

4.  Of  Locke,  the  great  antagonist  of,  and 
founder  of  the  school  of  philosophy  opposed 
to,  Descartes,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  speak 
to  English  readers  as  a  devout  believer  and 
defender  of  Christianity.  He  held,  it  is  true, 
that  the  immortality  of  the  soul  could  not  be 
demonstrated,  by  human  reason,  but  was  a  sub- 
ject for  revelation  only;  but  he  found  no  con- 
tradiction to  reason  in  the  doctrine ;  while  the 
existence  of  God,  his  essential,  original,  omni- 
present, and  eternal  being,  the  cause  of  all 
other  things,  and  the  foundation  of  all  moral- 
ity, he  thought  were  clearly  proved  by  reason 
(vide  "Human  Understanding").  So  also  in 
his  work,  "  Reasonableness  of  Christianity," 
he  specifically  maintains  the  reasonable  nature 
of  the  essential  doctrine  of  the  Christian  belief 
— viz.,  salvation  by  faith  in  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ — and  he  continued  through  life  a  sin- 
cere and  consistent  professor  of  that  faith. 

5.  Leibnitz,  who,  Ueberweg  says  (sec.  117), 
was  "the  founder  of  the  German  philosophy 
of  the  eighteenth  century,"  finds  that  God  ex- 
ists, and  is  uthe  most  perfect  Being,  than 
whom  no  greater  can  be  conceived.  The  good 
man  is  he  who  loves  all  men,  so  far  as  reason 


Ch.  3. J  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  155 

permits,  and  justice  is  the  virtue  which  con- 
trols this  love.  Submission  to  the  eternal  laws 
of  the  Divine  Monarchy  is  .justice  in  the  uni- 
versal sense,  in  which  it  includes  all  virtues  in 
itself.  The  particular  phenomena  of  nature 
can  and  must  be  mechanically  explained ;  but 
the  principles  of  physics  and  mechanics  them- 
selves depend  on  the  direction  of  a  Supreme 
Intelligence,  and  can  only  be  explained  when 
we  take  into  consideration  this  Intelligence; 
therefore,  the  true  principles  of  physics  must 
be  deduced  from  the  divine  perfections.  The 
soul  governs  the  body,  and  from  its  unity  and 
spirituality  he  infers  its  indestructibility  and 
immortality.  God  is  the  primitive  Unity,  or 
the  original,  simple,  and  absolute  Substance. 
He  has  an  adequate  knowledge  of  all  things, 
since  he  is  the  Source  of  all ;  is  an  omnipresent 
Center,  and  all  things  are  immediately  present 
to  him.  God  governs  nature  as  its  Architect, 
the  world  of  spirits  as  their  Monarch ;  and  be- 
tween the  kingdoms  of  nature  and  grace  there 
is  a  predetermined  harmony.  As  to  moral 
evil,  or  wrong,  God  could  not  remove  them 
without  removing  the  power  of  self-determina- 
tion, and  therewith  the  possibility  of  morality 
itself;  therefore,  freedom,  not  as  exemption 
from  law,  but  as  the  power  of  deciding  for 
one's  self  according  to  known  law,  belongs  to 


156  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

the  essence  of  the  human  spirit.  The  course 
of  nature  is  so  ordered  by  God  as  in  all  cases 
to  accord  with  the  highest  interests  of  the  soul ; 
and  in  this  consists  the  harmony  between  the 
kingdoms  of  nature  and  grace." 

6.  Finally,  we  cite  Kant,  the  illustrious  met- 
aphysician of  Germany,  perhaps  both  the  most 
comprehensive  and  profound  of  all  modern  phi- 
losophers. "Pure  reason,"  he  teaches,  "de- 
mands the  doctrines  of  the  freedom  of  the  will, 
the  immortality  of  the  human  soul,  and  the 
existence  of  God.  The  moral  law  requires 
holiness — i.  e.,  perfect  conformity  of  the  will  to 
the  moral  law.  But  the  consciousness  of  a  con- 
tinual bent  toward  transgression,  or  at  least 
toward  impurity  of  motive — i.  e.,  toward  the 
intermixture  of  imperfect,  non-moral  motives 
of  obedience — accompanies  the  spirit  in  its  best 
estate.  Virtue  is  the  highest  good,  happiness 
the  indispensable  condition  of  the  realization 
of  perfect  good."  In  his  work  entitled  "  Re- 
ligion Within  the  Limits  of  Mere  Reason,"  he 
teaches,  in  its  four  parts,  of — "1.  The  indwell- 
ing of  an  evil  principle,  side  by  side  with  the 
good  one,  in  human  nature,  or  of  the  radical 
evil  in  human  nature ;  2.  Of  the  contest  be- 
tween the  good  and  evil  principles  for  the  con- 
trol of  man ;  3.  Of  the  victory  of  the  good 
principle  over  the  evil  one,  and  of  the  founda- 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  157 

tion  of  a  kingdom  of  God  on  the  earth ;  4.  Of 
true  and  false  religious  service  under  the  rule 
of  the  good  principle,  or  of  religion  and  priest- 
craft. There  is  in  human  nature  a  propensity 
to  reverse  the  moral  order.  The  good  princi- 
ple is  humanity  in  its  complete  moral  perfec- 
tion (of  which  happiness  is,  by  the  will  of  the 
Supreme  Being,  the  immediate  consequence). 
Man,  thus  conceived — and  onlv  thus  is  he  well- 
pleasing  to  God — may  be  represented  as  the 
Son  of  God.  In  practical  faith  on  this  Son  of 
God,  man  may  hope  to  become  well-pleasing 
to  God,  and  so  to  attain  to  blessedness ;  or,  in 
other  words,  that  man  is  not  an  unworthy  ob- 
ject of  the  divine  complacency  who  is  conscious 
of  such  a  moral  disposition  that  he  can  believe, 
with  a  well-grounded  confidence  in  himself, 
that,  if  subjected  to  temptations  and  sufferings 
like  those  which  (in  the  gospel  of  Christ)  are 
made  the  touch-stone  of  the  ideal  of  humanity, 
he  would  remain  unalterably  loyal  to  that  ideal, 
faithfully  following  it  as  his  model,  and  retain- 
ing its  likeness." 

Such  are  the  conclusions  of  the  protracted 
and  profound  meditations  of  these  intellectual 
giants.  They  cannot,  of  course,  be  made  to 
give  evidence  as  to  those  doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity— as,  e.  #.,  the  incarnation,  the  suffi- 
ciency of  the  atonement,  the  resurrection,  etc. 


158  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

— which  from  their  very  nature  are  necessa- 
rily the  subject  of  revelation  only.  But  upon 
nearly,  if  not  all,  those  that  are  capable  of  the 
deductions  of  unaided  reason — those  of  the 
depravity  of  human  nature,  the  existence  and 
nature  of  God,  the  obligation  of  his  law,  the 
nature  and  the  necessity  of  holiness,  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  the  reasonableness  of 
requiring  faith  for  salvation,  etc. — in  such  as 
these,  their  conclusions,  arrived  at  in  some 
points  by  one,  in  others  by  another,  show  the 
agreement  of  Christianity  with  reason.  No 
jne,  indeed,  of  those  great  intellects  was  ever 
xble  singly  to  ascertain  all  these  great  truths 
without  the  aid  of  revelation ;  with  much  that  is 
good  the  most  eminent  of  them,  unlike  Christ, 
have  mingled  much  that  was  unworthy ;  and, 
at  the  best,  their  conclusions  fall  far  short  of 
the  sublimity,  the  purity,  the  consistency,  and 
the  certainty,  of  Bible  doctrine.  Yet,  when 
we  find  the  greatest  minds  of  all  ages,  though 
totally  differing  in  their  methods  and  as  to 
many  of  their  principles,  nevertheless  sustain- 
ing, some  one,  some  another,  of  the  doctrines 
of  the  Bible,  we  must  conclude  that  Christian- 
ity is  at  least  not  unreasonable ;  and  farther, 
even  as  to  those  doctrines  which  cannot  with- 
out revelation  be  made  the  subject  of  reason- 
ing, yet,  when  revealed,  there  has  never  been 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  159 

proved  any  disagreement  between  them  and 
reason.  Finally,  when  we  consider  how  many 
of  the  most  distinguished  leaders  of  human 
thought,  in  various  fields  of  knowledge,  have 
given  in  their  adhesion  not  only  to  those  doc- 
trines in  some  measure  deducible  by  reason, 
but  also  to  those  which  must  be  given  by  rev- 
elation alone,  our  conclusion  is  still  farther 
strengthened.  Poets  like  Shakespeare,  Mil- 
ton, and  Tennyson;  statesmen  like  Pitt,  and 
Gladstone,  and  Webster,  and  Calhoun ;  mental 
philosophers  like  Sir  William  Hamilton,  Cole- 
ridge, and  Dugald  Stewart;  physicists  like 
Newton  and  Davy,  like  Faraday,  Agassiz,  and 
Maury — have  fully  believed  in  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  It  is  almost  impossible  that  any 
set  of  principles  thus  concurred  in  by  so  many 
of  the  greatest  intellects,  looking  from  such 
various  stand-points  of  pursuit  and  of  histor- 
ical period,  etc.,  can  be  unreasonable  and  ab- 
surd. The  objection  that  is  sometimes  urged, 
on  the  ground  of  the  mysterious  nature  of 
some  of  the  peculiar  doctrines  of  Christianity, 
is  easily  answered.  If  we  are  to  receive  that 
religion  only  that  is  without  mystery,  and  to 
which  our  reason  is  adequate,  then  we  must 
reject  all  religion  whatsoever.  For  every  re- 
ligion must  suppose  a  God ;  yet  the  nature  arid 
the  mode  of  existence  of  God  is  wholly  myste- 


160  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

rious  to  us,  and  lies  beyond  our  reason.  Nay, 
if  we  receive  nothing  but  what  is  fully  explain- 
able to  us,  we  must  reject  all  sciences  and  arts, 
and,  what  is  more,  the  notion  we  have  of  our 
own  existence ;  for  all  of  these  involve  princi- 
ples not  capable  of  being  understood  by  us.* 

*  The  absurdity  of  this  objection  is  well  shown  by  the 
following  illustration,  taken  from  Coleridge :  "A  sick  man, 
whose  complaint  was  as  obscure  as  his  sufferings  were  severe 
and  notorious,  was  thus  addressed  by  a  humane  stranger : 
*  My  poor  friend,  I  find  you  dangerously  ill,  and  on  this 
account  only,  and  because  you  have  not  wherewith  to  pay 
a  physician,  I  have  come  to  you.  Kespecting  your  disease, 
indeed,  I  can  tell  you  nothing  that  you  are  capable  of 
understanding,  more  than  you  already  know,  or  can  be 
taught  by  reflection  on  your  own  experience.  But  I  have 
rendered  the  disease  no  longer  irremediable.  I  have 
brought  the  remedy  with  me,  and  I  now  offer  the  means 
of  immediate  relief  to  you,  with  the  assurance  of  convales- 
cence and  a  final  perfect  cure  —  nothing  more  being  re- 
quired on  your  part  but  your  best  endeavors  to  follow  the 
prescriptions  I  shall  leave  with  you.  Ask  not  how  such  a 
disease  is  possible ;  enough  for  the  present  that  you  know 
it  to  be  real.  I  come  to  cure  the  disease,  not  to  explain 
it."'  ("Aids  to  Keflection,"  p.  221.)  What  would  be 
thought  of  the  patient's  objecting  to  the  efficiency  of  the 
remedy  because  he  did  not  understand  its  manner  of  opera- 
tion? "But  if  thou  canst  not  read  the  mystery  of  birds," 
says  Cyril,  "  when  soaring  on  high,  how  wouldest  thou  read 
the  Maker  of  things?  Who  among  men  knows  even  the 
names  of  all  wild  beasts?  or  who  can  accurately  classify 
their  natures?  But  if  we  know  not  even  their  bare  names, 
how  should  we  comprehend  their  Maker?" 


Ch.  3.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  161 

Christianity,  then,  loses  nothing  in  its  claim 
to  be  reasonable  because  in  some  things  it  is 
mysterious  to  us.  There  is  nothing  in  it  con- 
trary to  reason,  and  that  it  has  much  that  is 
above  reason  is  surely  no  just  ground  of  objec- 
tion to  its  divine  character ;  nay,  we  expect  to 
find  in  that  which  is  divine  something  beyond 
the  grasp  of  human  powers,  and  we  would 
justly  at  once  disbelieve  in  its  divinity  did  we 
not  find  in  it  something  that  was  incomprehen- 
sible to  us. 


162  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 


CHAPTER    IV. 

THE  SUPERHUMAN  TEACHING  OF  CHRIST  —  II. 
THE  ANALOGY  OF  NATURE — III.  ITS  SUPERI- 
ORITY BOTH  TO  HUMAN  REASON  AND  NATURE. 

II.  We  are  next  to  show  that  the  principles 
of  Christianity  are  in  harmony  with  the  well- 
known  constitution  and  course  of  nature  about 
us.  This  agreement,  it  is  claimed,  is  so  gen- 
eral and  remarkable,  in  the  nature  as  well  of 
the  difficulties  as  of  the  things  not  difficult,  con- 
tained in  each,  as  to  constitute  an  analogy,  or 
likeness,  and  thus  to  show  unmistakably  that 
both  are  from  the  hand  of  the  same  author, 
even  God.  The  argument  following,  in  proof 
of  this  position,  is  taken  from  Butler's  cele- 
brated work,  the  "Analogy  of  Religion" — an 
argument  which,  so  far  as  the  author  is  aware, 
no  skeptic  has  ever  even  ventured  to  attack, 
and  which  certainly  no  one  has  ever  attacked 
with  success.  In  following  it,  we  find  it  indi- 
cated by  nature. 

1.  That  mankind  is  appointed  to  live  in 
a  future  state.  For  (1)  it  is  a  general  law 
of  nature  that  all  creatures  should  exist  in 
various  stages  of  life,  under  greatly  changed 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  163 

conditions  and  states  of  life.  Thu&  the  life 
of  a  man,  from  the  state  of  life  in  the  womb 
before  birth  to  that  of  his  fully  -  developed 
powers  of  manhood,  passes  through  various 
exceedingly  different  states  and  conditions, 
equally  with  that  of  the  butterfly  from  the 
worm  to  the  gay  and  fully -developed  insect. 
Therefore,  that  we  are  to  exist  hereafter  in  a 
state  as  different  from  this  our  present  state 
of  existence  as  this  is  from  our  former  condi- 
tion, is  not  against,  but  according  to,  the  anal- 
ogy of  nature.  (2)  The  possession  of  our 
living  powers  of  action  and  feeling  now  is  a 
presumption  that  they  will  still  exist  hereafter. 
Continuance  is  the  law  of  all  being — i.  e.,  of  all 
those  qualities  necessary  to  existence  (cf.  the 
scientific  principle  of  continuity  set  forth  in 
"  The  Unseen  Universe  ").  Therefore,  unless 
some  reason  can  be  shown  why  death  should 
destroy  them,  we  must  presume  that  our  pow- 
ers of  action  and  feeling  will  continue,  in  some 
state,  to  exist.  But  there  is  no  ground  to  be- 
lieve that  death  will  destroy  them.  The  mere 
cessation  of  their  exercise  does  not  prove  their 
destruction,  for  their  exercise  is  suspended 
also  in  sleep,  and  in  a  swoon,  yet  not  destroyed. 
The  body,  as  a  whole,  appears  to  be  in  this 
respect  just  like  each  of  its  parts — the  eye,  or 
the  hand — merely  the  instrument  of  the  inward 


164  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

powers  of  the  mind,  and  just  as  any  one  part 
— the  eye,  or  the  hand — may  perish,  and  yet 
leave  those  mental  powers  themselves  entirely 
unimpaired,  so  may  the  whole  body  perish, 
and  leave  them  unimpaired.  On  the  contra- 
ry, since  it  is  manifest  that  our  gross  body  is 
not  necessary  to  our  intellectual  enjoyments ; 
since,  indeed,  it  often  leaves  them  wholly  un- 
impaired, though  it  is  reduced  to  the  extrem- 
ity of  weakness,  and  to  the  verge  of  death; 
there  is  no  ground  therefore,  in  nature,  for 
believing  that  the  exercise  of  our  faculties  is 
at  all  suspended,  even  by  death  itself.  Death, 
on  the  contrary,  may  in  some  sort  answer  to 
our  birth,  and,  like  it,  put  us  into  a  higher 
and  more  enlarged  state  of  life.  As  death 
therefore  does  not  appear  likely  to  destroy  us, 
it  is  probable  we  shall  live  on,  and  the  next 
life  may  be  as  natural  as  the  present. 

2.  Nature  teaches  us  that  in  that  future  state 
men  shall  be  rewarded  good  or  evil,  as  they 
have  been  virtuous  or  vicious  here.  (1)  We 
find,  in  general,  that  in  nature  pain  follows 
vice,  and  happiness  results  from  virtue;  and 
moreover,  as  with  intemperance,  that  such  pain 
often  follows  actions  which  are  accompanied 
with  much  present  pleasure.  (2)  That  it  is 
often  much  greater  than  the  pleasure.  (3)  Its 
delay  is  no  presumption  of  final  impunity.    (4) 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  165 

After  such  delay  they  often  come  suddenly. 

(5)  And  that  too  even  though  men  may  not 
have  a  distinct  and  full  expectation  of  them. 

(6)  Opportunities  once  neglected  may  never 
be  recalled.  (7)  The  consequences  of  folly 
and  extravagance  are  often  irretrievable.  (8) 
Neglect  is  often  attended  with  consequences 
as  dreadful  as  positive  misbehavior.  (9)  Many 
such  consequences — as,  e.  g.,  mortal  diseases — 
are  permanent  and  irretrievable  to  him  who 
incurs  them. 

The  character  of  the  punishment,  then,  is 
analogous  to  that  pronounced  against  trans- 
gressors by  the  Scriptures.  Moreover,  these 
things  are  not  accidental,  but  they  are  things 
of  every  day's  experience,  and  they  proceed 
from  general  laws,  and  very  general  ones,  by 
which  God  governs  the  world,  in  the  natural 
course  of  his  providence.  This  proves  him  to 
be  an  intelligent  Governor,  administering  re- 
wards and  punishments.  Moreover,  he  is  a 
moral  Governor ;  for  though  it  is  admitted  that 
the  divine  government  we  are  under  in  this 
present  state,  taken  alone,  and  not  with  what 
we  claim  for  the  future  administration  of  re- 
wards and  punishments,  is  not  perfect  in  degree, 
it  is  yet  moral  in  kind.  For,  not  only  is  it  to 
be  presumed,  since  it  is  shown  he  does  govern 
in  some  way,  that  he  would  govern  agreeably 


166  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

to  morality,  but  a  moral  government  is  implied 
also:  (1)  from  the  fact  that  human  society, 
which  is  but  an  instrumentality  of  God,  does 
actually  punish  the  vicious ;  (2)  from  the  fact 
that,  in  the  natural  course  of  things,  virtue  is 
rewarded  and  vice  is  punished.  Therefore,  the 
good  and  the  bad  effects,  the  satisfaction  and 
the  uneasiness  produced,  respectively,  by  vir- 
tue and  by  vice;  the  disposition  of  men  to 
befriend  virtue  and  to  discountenance  vice; 
lastly,  the  tendency  that  there  is  in  virtue  and 
vice  to  produce  their  good  and  bad  effects  in 
a  greater  degree  than  they  do  in  fact  produce 
them,  owing  to  the  imperfection  of  human  so- 
ciety and  human  laws — all  these  are  proofs  of 
there  being  something  moral  in  nature.  For 
happy  would  be  the  lot  of  individuals  and 
whole  nations  if  perfect  morality  universally 
existed. 

3.  The  foregoing  considerations,  therefore, 
are  a  strong  proof,  (1)  that  the  Author  of 
nature  is  in  favor  of  virtue,  and  against  vice ; 
(2)  that  the  distributive  justice  of  the  next 
world  will  be  the  very  same  in  kind,  however 
different  in  degree,  from  that  which  we  now  ex- 
perience ;  (3)  that  virtue  and  vice,  which  are 
here  actually  rewarded  and  punished  imper- 
fectly, will  be  actually  rewarded  and  punished 
fully  hereafter.     Finally,  from  all  these  con- 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  167 

siderations  there  arises  a  presumption  that 
the  moral  government  established  in  nature 
will  be  carried  on  much  farther  hereafter,  and 
indeed  absolutely  completed. 

4.  Our  present  life  is  a  probation,  under 
trial,  difficulties,  and  danger,  intended  to  pre- 
pare us,  by  moral  discipline,  for  another  world. 
The  way  to  temporal  good  is  a  way  of  labor 
and  trial,  and  beset  with  difficulty  and  danger, 
so  that  we  are  accustomed  to  feel  anxious  so- 
licitude for  the  young  just  setting  out  in  life. 
Persons  may  be  betrayed  into  wrong  behavior 
by  surprise,  or  overcome  by  other  very  singu- 
lar and  extraordinary  occasions.  And  again, 
persons  who  have  contracted  habits  of  vice  and 
folly  of  any  kind,  are  liable  even  to  go  out  of 
the  way  to  seek  opportunities  to  gratify  those 
habits.  Some  have  so  little  consideration  that 
they  will  scarce  look  beyond  the  present,  but 
gratify  themselves  regardless  of  future  conse- 
quences ;  some  are  blinded  and  deceived  by 
inordinate  passions,  and  some  are  not  blinded, 
but  forcibly  carried  away,  as  it  were,  by  such 
passions ;  while  some  shamelessly  avow  that 
their  pleasure  is  the  law  of  their  life,  to  what- 
ever vicious  excess  it  may  carry  them.  Now, 
to  secure  worldly  success,  it  is  necessary  to 
practice  self-denial,  and  make  the  considera- 
tions of  future  interest  govern  the  life,  rather 


168  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

than  the  enjoyments  of  the  present.  Thus  we 
see  that  our  difficulties  and  trials  are  of  simi- 
lar character,  and  have  the  same  effect  upon 
our  behavior  and  future  happiness,  in  things 
of  merely  worldly  concern,  as  we  are  taught 
they  have  in  religion.  And,  it  may  be  added, 
in  the  former  as  well  as  in  the  latter,  our  dan- 
gers and  difficulties  are  greatly  increased  by 
the  ill-behavior  of  others,  by  improper  educa- 
tion, by  bad  example,  by  wrong  opinions  being 
prevalent,  and  by  the  deceit  and  hypocrisy  of 
those  with  whom  we  may  be  connected  in  busi- 
*  ness,  etc.  Nevertheless,  in  both  it  is  possible 
for  us  to  be  prudent  and  careful :  there  is  no 
more  required  of  us  than  we  are  able  to  do ; 
and,  in  any  case,  we  can  no  more  complain  of 
this,  with  regard  to  the  Author  of  nature,  than 
of  his  not  having  given  us  other  advantages 
belonging  to  other  orders* of  creatures.  All 
this,  then,  makes  it  credible  that  we  are  in  a 
state  of  trial  in  our  moral  as  well  as  in  our 
natural  capacity,  notwithstanding  these  diffi- 
culties. 

Farther,  we  are  placed  in  this  state  of  trial 
for  our  moral  discipline — our  improvement  in 
virtue  and  piety — in  preparation  for  another 
world.  All  the  reasons  for  such  a  state  exist- 
ing here  we  may  not  be  able  to  understand, 
but  this  is  the  end  for  which  we  are  placed  in 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  169 

such  a  state ;  so  that  just  as  the  beginning  of 
life  is  the  time  for  education  for  mature  age 
in  this  world,  so  is  this  life  an  education  for 
the  next  world.  1.  Our  characters  and  quali- 
fications must  be  suited  to  the  particular  kind 
of  employments  and  happiness  peculiar  to  the 
future  world  of  bliss,  for  otherwise  we  should 
be  incapable  of  engaging  in  those  employ- 
ments, and  of  enjoying  that  happiness.  2.  We 
are  so  constituted  that  we  are  capable  of  be- 
coming qualified  for  states  of  life  for  which 
we  were  once  wholly  unqualified.  We  can  ac- 
quire habits  of  body  and  habits  of  mind.  By 
accustoming  ourselves  to  any  course  of  action 
we  get  an  aptness  to  go  on,  a  facility,  a  readi- 
ness, and  often  pleasure,  in  it.  The  inclina- 
tions which  rendered  us  averse  to  it  grow 
weaker,  the  difficulties  in  it  —  not  only  the 
imaginary  but  the  real  ones — lessen,  and  the 
contrary  principles  grow  stronger  by  exercise. 
And  thus  a  new  character,  in  several  respects, 
may  be  formed.  3.  These  capacities  are  neces- 
sary to  our  preparation  for  mature  life,  and  in- 
tended to  be  used  in  order  to  that  preparation. 
Nature  in  no  respect  qualifies  us  at  the  begin- 
ning of  life  for  this  mature  state  of  life,  but 
leaves  man  an  unformed,  unfinished  creature, 
utterly  deficient,  and  unqualified,  both  in  body 
and  mind,  for  tftat  mature  state  of  life  which 
8 


170  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

was  the  end  in  view  in  his  creation,  considering 
him  as  related  only  to  this  world.  All  these 
defects  are  to  be  supplied  by  education  through 
the  capacities  given  him ;  and  as  nature  has 
given  us  such  capacities,  so  also  she  places  us 
in  such  a  situation  throughout  infancy,  child- 
hood, and  youth,  as  is  fitted  for  our  acquiring 
those  qualifications  of  all  sorts  of  which  we 
stand  in  need  in  mature  age.  In  like  manner 
the  Scriptures  represent  this  life  as  intended 
to  educate  us  morally  for  the  next.  And  this, 
though  we  could  not  see  in  what  way  it  was  so, 
for  neither  do  children  understand  how  food, 
exercise,  etc.,  prepare  them  for  mature  age. 
But,  4.  The  present  life  is  well  fitted  for  this 
education.  For,  1st.  Virtue  and  piety  are 
necessary  qualifications  for  the  future  state, 
since,  according  to  analogy,  that  state  will  be 
an  active  one,  under  a  more  immediate  moral 
government  by  God,  and  thus  give  occasion 
for  the  need  of  such  a  character  in  its  mem- 
bers. 2d.  We  need  such  improvement  in  our 
moral  character  by  discipline.  That  we  are 
capable  of  it,  has  been  already  shown;  that 
we  need  it,  is  evident  from  our  being,  first, 
finite  creatures,  and  therefore  imperfect  and 
deficient;  secondly,  corrupt  creatures,  and 
therefore  needing  renovation.  Even  unfallen 
creatures,  as  angels  and  Adam,  are  benefited 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  171 

by  being  raised  to  a  higher  and  more  secure 
state  of  virtue  by  proper  discipline,  while  for 
fallen  and  depraved  men  it  is  absolutely  nec- 
essary. Now,  this  world  is  peculiarly  fit  to  be 
such  a  state  of  discipline  to  all  who  will  set 
themselves  to  amendment  and  improvement. 
The  existence  about  us  of  allurements  to  what 
is  wrong,  difficulties  in  the  discharge  of  our 
duty,  our  not  being  able  to  act  a  uniform  right 
part  without  some  thought  and  care,  the  op- 
portunities we  have  for  doing  wrong — these 
snares  and  temptations  to  vice  compel  us  to 
keep  upon  our  guard,  and  to  practice  resolu- 
tion and  self-denial  in  order  to  preserve  our 
integrity.  Thus  a  more  continued  and  more 
intense  exercise  of  virtue  is  required,  and  so 
the  habit  of  virtue  is  better  formed  and  fixed. 
And  the  same  is  true  as  to  the  formation  of 
our  habits  of  passive  submission  to  God,  nec- 
essary, together  with  that  of  active  obedience, 
to  make  up  an  entirely  virtuous  character,  such 
as  is  required  for  participation  in  the  employ- 
ments and  the  happiness  of  the  next  world. 
Affliction  is  the  proper  discipline  for  resigna- 
tion. Just  as  we  find,  then,  in  this  life,  that 
what  we  are  to  be  in  mature  age  depends  on 
what  we  do  in  childhood  and  youth,  so  we  are 
to  be  in  the  next  world  just  as  we  do  here. 
6.  Such  a  system  is  not  inconsistent  with 


172  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

wisdom  and  goodness.  (1)  It  is  quite  credible 
that  God's  moral  government  is  a  scheme  be- 
yond our  comprehension.  The  whole  scheme 
of  the  material  world  and  its  government  has 
such  an  astonishing  connection  of  parts,  such 
reciprocal  correspondencies  and  mutual  rela- 
tions, that  we  do  not  know  how  necessary  the 
existence  of  any  one  part,  however  small,  may 
be  to  the  existence  of  the  whole ;  nor  are  we 
competent  to  judge  of  it  as  a  whole.  Much 
more  incompetent  are  we  to  judge  as  to  the 
moral  world,  from  the  small  part  which  comes 
within  our  view,  in  the  present  life,  of  the  true 
relations  or  importance  of  all  its  parts,  or  of 
its  character  as  a  whole.  Therefore,  we  are 
not  competent  to  say  that  it  is  inconsistent 
with  wisdom  or  goodness.  (2)  Besides,  we 
have  no  reason  to  infer,  from  the  existence 
of  evil,  such  a  conclusion ;  for  in  the  natural 
world  no  ends  are  accomplished  without  means, 
and  often  desirable  ends  are  brought  about  by 
means  which  would  otherwise  be  very  unde- 
sirable. Supposing  the  moral  world  to  be  anal- 
ogous to  it  in  this  respect,  the  afflictions  we 
suffer  may  be  the  means  by  which  a  greater 
preponderance  of  good  will,  in  the  end,  be  se- 
cured. Farther,  the  natural  government  of 
the  world  is.  carried  on  by  the  operation  of 
general  laws,  for  whiph  there  may  be  the  wis- 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  173 

est  reasons,  and  by  which  the  best  ends  may 
be  accomplished.  There  is  no  ground  for  be- 
lieving that  irregularities  could  be  remedied 
or  precluded  by  general  laws,  while  special 
interpositions  might  produce  evil,  and  prevent 
good,  by  encouraging  idleness  and  negligence, 
and  by  making  it  doubtful  what  are  the  gen- 
eral and  regular  rules  of  life.  So  Christianity 
also  is  a  scheme  beyond  our  comprehension, 
itself  but  a  part  of  a  mysterious  whole,  viz., 
the  moral  government  of  the  universe  by  God 
— a  scheme  in  which  means  are  used  to  an  end 
— a  scheme  carried  on  by  general  laws. 

Thus  these  analogies  show  us  that  it  is  not 
at  all  incredible  that,  could  we  but  comprehend 
the  whole,  we  should  find  the  permission  of 
disorder  in  the  world  consistent  with  justice 
and  goodness.  Therefore,  the  fact  of  its  exist- 
ence cannot  invalidate  the  proof  that  we  have 
of  religion.  We  are  only  incompetent  to  judge 
in  such  cases  when  we  are  ignorant  of  the 
possibilities  of  things,  and  of  their  present 
relations ;  and  we  dare  not  venture  to  declare 
that  the  existence  of  evil  is  inconsistent  with 
infinite  wisdom,  and  goodness,  and  power. 

7.  We  must  expect  that  such  a  system  will 
have  some  things  in  it  incomprehensible  to 
us.  (1)  There  are  innumerable  things  in  the 
constitution  and  government  of  the  universe 


174  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

which  are  beyond  the  natural  reach  of  our 
faculties.  Those  that  are  open  to  our  view 
are  doubtless  but  a  point  in  comparison  with 
the  whole  plan  of  Providence  as  to  things  past 
as  well  as  future  in  this  world,  not  to  speak 
of  what  is  now  going  on  also  in  the  remote 
parts  of  the  boundless  universe.  And  even 
those  things  we  do  see  are,  in  many  respects, 
beyond  our  powers  of  comprehension.  But 
this  is  no  presumption  against  their  truth 
and  reality;  and  therefore  there  is  no  pre- 
sumption either  against  the  truth  of  Chris- 
tianity because  it  teaches  us  some  truths  which 
are  incomprehensible  to  us — as,  e.  g.,  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  world  by  Jesus  Christ,  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  hearts 
of  men,  etc. 

(2)  Since  the  acknowledged  constitution  and 
course  of  nature  is  not  what  we  should  expect 
beforehand,  but  apparently  in  many  respects 
objectionable,  and  since  we  thus  know  that  we 
are  wholly  incompetent  to  judge  of  such  mat- 
ters beforehand,  we  must  conclude  that  we  are 
also  incompetent,  only  in  a  much  higher  de- 
gree, to  judge  beforehand  what  Christianity 
ought  to  be.  How  improbable,  e.  g.,  it  would 
have  seemed  beforehand  that  men  should  be 
so  much  more  capable  of  discovering  the 
general  laws  of  matter,  and  the  magnitudes, 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  175 

paths,  and  revolutions  of  the  heavenly  bodies, 
than  the  causes  and  cures  of  diseases,  and 
many  other  things  in  which  human  life  seems 
so  much  more  nearly  concerned  than  astrono- 
my ;  or  how  improbable  that  brutes,  without 
reason,  should  act  through  instinct,  in  many 
respects  with  vastly  greater  sagacity  and  fore- 
sight than  men.  Yet  such  are  the  facts,  and 
the  short-sightedness  of  our  reason,  even  in  the 
commoner  matters  of  this  life,  is  thus  fully  seen. 
(3)  Farther  still,  there  is  a  great  resemblance 
between  the  light  of  nature  and  the  light  of 
Christianity  in  this  respect.  In  both,  (1)  the 
common  rules  of  conduct  are  plain  and  obvi- 
ous; (2)  many  parts  of  knowledge  require 
careful  consideration  to  gain  it ;  (3)  the  hin- 
derances — viz.,  indolence,  self-satisfaction,  our 
love  of  other  things,  and  the  weakness  of  our 
minds,  etc. — are  the  same  in  both;  (4)  they 
are  to  be  increased  in  the  same  way,  by  the 
continuance  of  liberty  and  the  progress  of 
learning ;  and  (5)  we  should  expect  that  Chris- 
tianity, being  a  remedial  system,  would  have 
been  long  delayed,  and  at  last  but  partially 
and  imperfectly  communicated  to  mankind  as 
a  whole.  For  many  of  the  remedies  that  we 
possess  for  physical  diseases  were  unknown  for 
ages,  are  now  known  to  but  few,  and  probably 
many  are  yet  entirely  unknown. 


* 


176  Positive  Ecidenc.es.  [Part  II. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  reason  is  incompe- 
tent to  decide  against  revelation  because  of 
my  thing  in  its  moral  teachings,  as  also  to 
reject  its  evidences  because  of  the  difficulty 
of  comprehending  some  of  its  teachings.  Nei- 
ther can  Christianity  be  rejected  because  it  is 
a  complicated  scheme,  involving  a  long  series 
of  intricate  means  to  accomplish  the  recovery 
of  the  world  from  sin,  for  such  is  the  natural 
course  of  providence  in  this  world.  Through- 
out nature  its  Author  appears  deliberate  in  his 
operations,  accomplishing  his  ends  by  slow,  suc- 
cessive steps — as,  for  instance,  in  the  changes 
of  the  seasons,  the  ripening  of  the  fruits  of  the 
earth,  etc. 

8.  We  should  expect  the  appointment  of  a 
Mediator  between  God  and  man,  in  the  work 
of  human  redemption,  by  whom  the  redemp- 
tion of  the  world  would  be  accomplished.  (1) 
We,  and  all  reasonable  creatures,  are  indebted 
for  life  and  all  life's  blessings,  first,  for  our 
being  brought  into  the  world,  and  then  for 
our  preservation  and  happiness  therein  to  the 
mediation  and  instrumentality  of  others.  (2) 
It  is  supposable  that  future  punishment  may 
follow  wickedness  as  a  natural  consequence, 
according  to  general  laws  established  in  the 
universe,  just  as  evil  consequences  follow  our 
transgressions  in  this  world.     (3)  But  we  find 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  177 

that,  in  the  constitution  of  nature,  all  the  usual 
bad  consequences  of  evil  actions  do  not  always 
follow,  but  that  sometimes,  in  various  degrees, 
they  may  be  prevented,  so  that  we  have  here 
some  evidence  of  compassion  in  the  original 
constitution  of  the  world.  (4)  There  seems 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  any  thing  we  could 
do  would,  of  itself,  prevent  them,  for  we  do  not 
know  all  the  reasons  why  future  punishment 
should  be  inflicted,  nor  the  whole  consequences 
of  vice,  nor  the  manner  in  which  they  would 
follow  if  unpre vented.  The  analogy  of  nature 
gives  us  positive  evidence  that  when  men,  by 
their  folly,  bring  on  themselves  temporal  in- 
jury, disease,  and  ruin,  neither  sorrow  for  the 
past,  nor  amendment  for  the  future,  will  pre- 
vent these  consequences.  Therefore,  if  we 
misbehave  in  our  higher  capacity,  we  should 
not  expect  that  sorrow  and  amendment  would 
alone  be  sufficient  to  prevent  our  punishment. 
(5)  That  we  are  in  a  state  of  degradation  and 
danger,  through  the  fault  of  our  first  parents, 
is  analogous  to  the  whole  history  of  man  here, 
as  when  we  see  children,  for  instance,  daily 
brought  into  a  worse  state  in  the  world  through 
the  misbehavior  of  their  parents.  Being  there- 
fore in  such  a  fallen  state,  and  being  guilty 
ourselves  of  many  actual  sins  besides,  and  hav- 
ing no  way  of  escape,  the  Scriptures  assure  us 
8* 


178  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

that  God  gave  his  Son  to  the  world,  that  who- 
soever would  believe  on  him  should  not  perish, 
and  that  his  interposition  to  that  end  was  effect- 
ual. (6)  In  this  revelation  we  should  expect 
to  find  much,  the  reason  of  which  we  cannot 
know.  For  instance,  it  tells  us  the  way  in 
which  Christ  so  interposed  for  us — 1st.  As  a 
Prophet,  to  publish  anew  the  law  of  God ;  2d. 
As  a  King,  to  found  the  Church,  and  to  govern 
it  by  his  Spirit ;  3d.  As  a  Priest,  to  offer  him- 
self a  propitiatory  sacrifice,  and  make  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  the  world.  Now,  without 
a  revelation  we  should  have  no  means  of  know- 
ing whether  or  not  a  Mediator  was  necessary ; 
or,  supposing  one  to  be  necessary,  in  what  man- 
ner he  would  effect  the  object  for  which  he  had 
come.  It  is  therefore  highly  absurd  to  object 
to  the  expediency,  or  usefulness,  for  instance, 
of  the  sacrificial  death  of  Christ  for  our  re- 
demption, because  we  may  not  see  how  it  was 
conducive  to  the  ends  proposed.  (7)  Such  a 
revelation  of  the  Innocent  One  suffering  for 
the  guilty  is  consistent  with  the  analogy  of 
nature;  for  in  this  life  innocent  people  ordi- 
narily suffer  for  the  faults  of  the  guilty ;  and 
it  is  often  the  case,  when  men,  by  their  follies 
and  crimes,  have  been  brought  into  extreme 
distress,  from  which  they  can  be  extricated 
only  by  the  very  great  pains  and  labors  of 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  179 

others,  that  the  guilty  are  saved  through  the 
sufferings  of  the  innocent.  Besides,  the  tend- 
ency of  this  method  of  our  redemption  is  to 
vindicate  the  authority  of  God's  laws,  and  to 
deter  his  creatures  from  sin  in  the  most  effect- 
ual manner;  and  this  consideration  alone  is 
sufficient  to  justify  its  reasonableness.  Yet 
this  is  probably  far  from  being  the  whole  rea- 
son. There  may  be  many  reasons  of  which 
we 'know  nothing;  nor  is  our  ignorance  of  the 
reasons  a  good  ground  for  denying  its  reason- 
ableness. On  the  contrary,  the  analogy  of 
nature  teaches  us  not  to  expect  so  much  to 
know  the  reasons  of  the  divine  conduct  as  to 
be  informed  of  our  duty ;  for  we  know  but  lit- 
tle about  the  fundamental  principles  of  the 
operations  of  nature,  yet  we  are  sufficiently 
informed  as  to  the  practical  effect  of  those  op- 
erations upon  our  lives.  So  with  revelation. 
The  doctrine  of  a  Mediator  relates  only  to  what 
wras  done  on  God's  part  in  the  appointment  of 
a  Mediator,  and  on  the  Mediator's  part  in  the 
execution  of  the  work  thus  assigned  him.  Our 
duty  in  regard  to  that  mediation  is  entirely  a 
different  matter.  On  this  we  are  fully  informed ; 
we  need  not  be  so  informed  upon  the  other. 

9.  We  ought  not  to  expect  that  Christian- 
ity should  be  clearly  proved,  or  universally 
believed.     For — 1st.  It  is  often  exceedingly 


180  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

difficult  to  determine  wherein  our  temporal  in- 
terests consist,  or  to  estimate  the  changes  and 
accidents  which  may  disappoint  our  plans,  or 
to  answer  objections  to  a  course  of  action, 
which,  nevertheless,  for  good  reasons,  we  feel 
warranted  in  pursuing.  2d.  The  blessings  of 
this  life — of  climate,  soil,  health,  strength,  un- 
derstanding, and  knowledge — are  distributed 
among  men  in  the  most  unequal  and  promis- 
cuous manner.  3d.  Nor  are  these  facts  incon- 
sistent with  justice,  since  no  more  is  required 
of  any  man  than  what  might  equitably  be  ex- 
pected of  him.  Nor  is  it  inconsistent  with 
wisdom  and  goodness ;  for  (1)  the  examina- 
tion of  the  evidence  of  religion,  to  those  to 
whom  it  does  not  appear  convincing  at  first, 
may  be  part  of  their  trial,  in  giving  scope  for  a 
virtuous  exercise  or  a  vicious  neglect  of  their 
understanding,  in  examining  or  not  examining 
it,  just  as  they  are  in  a  state  of  probation  as  to 
their  behavior  in  other  and  more  common  af- 
fairs. The  same  disposition  which  makes  a 
man  obedient  to  the  precepts  of  religion  would 
lead  him,  were  he  not  convinced  of  its  truth, 
to  consider  its  evidence.  Negligence  and  in- 
attention, before  conviction,  are  as  truly  guilty 
as  vicious  practice  afterward.  (2)  Even  doubt- 
ful evidence  places  us  in  a  state  of  probation 
in  so  far  as  that  we  are  bound  to  consider  and 


or 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  181 

weigh  that  evidence.  Doubt  implies  some  evi- 
dence of  that  which  is  doubted,  just  as  truly  as 
belief  implies  a  higher  degree  of  it,  and  cer- 
tainty a  higher  degree  still.  Therefore,  even 
doubt  requires  of  us  a  reverent  and  careful  con- 
sideration, that  is  open  to  farther  light  and 
conviction.  (3)  Difficulties  of  belief  should  no 
more  be  complained  of  than  difficulties  of  prac- 
tice ;  for,  since  they  give  occasion  for  the  exer- 
cise of  a  virtuous  disposition,  they  are  of  the 
same  nature  as  external  temptation,  and  are 
adapted  for  our  discipline  and  improvement  in 
virtue. 

In  conclusion,  let  us  consider:  1st.  That 
these  difficulties  may  be  from  our  own  fault — 
from  our  attending  less  to  evidence  than  to 
difficulties,  or  from  considering  religion  with 
levity  or  carelessness,  with  passion  or  with 
prejudice.  These  may  hinder  evidence  from 
being  laid  before  us,  or  prevent  it  from  being 
candidly  weighed  after  it  has  been  presented. 
2d.  That  therefore,  if  some  will  continue  to 
disregard  and  reject  Christianity,  without  a 
candid  consideration  of  its  evidences,  there  is 
no  reason  to  suppose  that  they  would  act  oth- 
erwise, even  though  a  demonstration  of  its 
truth  were  given  them.  3d.  That  the  guilt  of 
an  immoral  life  in  those  who  thus  obstinately 
reject  the  light  of  Christianity,  without  a  fair 


182  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

examination  of  its  evidences,  is  greatly  aggra- 
vated. 

Such  is  the  argument  drawn  from  the  agree- 
ment of  Christianity  with  the  acknowledged 
constitution  and  course  of  nature.  Nothing 
appears  contrary  to  nature,  and  there  is  much 
that  is  in  complete  and  remarkable  harmony 
therewith.  This  fact  points  to  the  Maker  of 
nature  as  the  Author  of  Christianity  also ;  and, 
while  its  singular  analogy  with  the  order  of 
nature  about  us  attests  its  reality  and  truth, 
the  impress  of  the  same  great  features  and 
principles  of  administration  upon  both  de- 
clares that  both  are  the  work  of  the  same  in- 
finite Power  and  Wisdom,  and  that  the  Author 
of  Christianity  also  is  God. 

III.  But  Christianity  excels  alike  the  best 
deductions  of  philosophy  and  the  highest  teach- 
ings of  nature.  While  it  is  in  agreement  with 
them,  it  is  also  superior,  and  thus  it  displays 
its  divinity.  This  has  already  been  partially 
shown  (vide  Part  I.,  Ch.  3),  and  we  have  seen 
how  Christ  alone  has,  1st,  set  forth  the  whole 
vast  range  of  moral  truth ;  2d,  has  taught  with 
unvarying  wisdom  and  goodness.  In  these 
and  other  such  striking  characteristics  is  his 
superiority  to  all  other  teachers  shown.  In 
the  nature  of  the  special  characteristics  of  his 
teaching  this  is  more  apparent  still.     Rogers 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  183 

("Supernatural  Origin  of  the  Bible")  has 
pointed  out,  among  other  peculiarities  distin- 
guishing the  teaching  contained  in  the  Bible 
from  that  of  all  other  religions  and  philoso- 
phies, deprived  of  its  light,  the  following  par- 
ticulars :  1.  The  propounding  of  a  religion 
which  aspires  to  universal  dominion,  and  that 
achieved  without  violence,  by  moral  suasion 
alone,  notwithstanding  that  that  religion  is 
contrary  to  our  fallen  nature,  and  often  vio- 
lated even  by  its  own  professed  followers.  2. 
The  full  recognition  of  the  right  of  conscience 
in  general,  and  of  the  principle  of  universal  tol- 
eration, found  nowhere  else,  especially  never 
with  a  Jew.  3.  In  broad  contrast  with  all 
other  systems,  its  giving  no  hint  of  any  alli- 
ance between  religion  and  political  govern- 
ment. 4.  Similarly,  its  reticence  as  to  the 
future  and  invisible  world,  excepting  on  the 
one  point  as  to  which  they  are  silent — viz., 
that  therein  "dwelleth  righteousness."  5.  Its 
teaching  of  the  entire  helplessness  of  man  for 
good — exemplified  in  Christ's  assertion,  "  With- 
out me  ye  can  do  nothing" — while  yet  it  re- 
mains most  sympathetic  with  man's  sad  con- 
dition. 6.  Its  principle,  that  to  conscientious- 
ly reduce  to  practice  what  we  already  know 
("  He  that  is  disposed  to  clo  the  will  of  God 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine"),  is  the  surest  way 


184  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

of  advancing  in  the  knowledge  of  divine  truth. 
7.  That  no  religious  knowledge  is  of  any  worth 
except  as  reduced  to  practice — "faith  without 
works  is  dead."  8.  Its  freedom  from  minute 
casuistry — as,  e.  g.,  in  the  case  of  "meats," 
"  days,"  etc.  9.  Its  giving  the  crowning  place 
to  "charity."  10.  Its  avoidance  of  political 
and  social  rocks — as  the  questions  of  slavery 
and  those  pertaining  to  civil  government.  In 
all  these  it  is  in  the  strongest  contrast  not  only 
with  all  philosoph}^  but  with  human  nature 
generally,  and  even  with  the  opinions  and 
practices,  in  one  point  or  another,  of  most  of 
its  followers  in  succeeding  times;  for  they, 
after  having  been  taught,  still  vainly  strove 
to  reach,  in  their  own  instructions,  the  height 
of  Christ's  divine  teaching. 

Row  also  sets  forth  Christ's  superiority,  sub- 
stantially as  follows : 

1.  Christ's  declaration,  "  I  am  the  light  of 
the  world ;  he  that  followeth  me  shall  not  walk 
in  darkness,  but  shall  have  the  light  of  life," 
was  a  great  and  bold  utterance  in  view  of  the 
coming  tests  of  the  ages  of  time,  but  complete- 
ly verified  on  every  page  of  history  since,  and 
by  the  world  to-day.  But  if  so,  he  far  tran- 
scends in  this  all  philosophers,  or  other  teach- 
ers, that  have  ever  appeared  among  men,  and 
therefore  he  must  be  superhuman  and  divine. 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  185 

2.  No  human  genius,  however  exalted,  has 
ever  been  able  wholly  to  emancipate  himself 
from  the  restraints  imposed  on  him  by  his 
birth,  and  by  the  moral  and  spiritual  atmos- 
phere in  which  he  was  educated.  For  in- 
stance, the  teachings  of  Mohammed,  in  the 
Koran,  bear  the  strongest  impress  of  the 
Arab  mind,  as  also  that  of  all  others  who 
have  assumed  to  be  the  great  moral  teachers 
of  mankind.  They  have  always  been  in  some 
degree  national,  or  local.  Jesus  Christ  alone 
is  catholic  as  humanity.  Yet  the  Jews  of  his 
time  were  proverbially  narrow-minded  and  ex- 
clusive bigots,  fanatical  and  superstitious,  and 
in  such  an  atmosphere  must  Jesus  and  his 
disciples  have  been  born  and  educated.  It  is 
evident  that  in  that  atmosphere  the  highest 
moral  teaching  could  not  have  been  evolved 
by  any  natural  process ;  consequently,  if  Jew- 
ish peasants  and  fishermen  have  succeeded  in 
elaborating  a  body  of  doctrine  which  not  only 
agrees,  so  far  as  it  goes,  with  that  of  the  most 
enlightened  teachers  of  the  ancient  world,  but 
also  succeeded  in  accomplishing  what  all  of 
those  masters,  after  all  their  efforts,  failed  ut- 
terly to  effect,  the  conclusion,  upon  every  rea- 
sonable principle,  must  be  that  Christ,  the 
first  Promulgator  of  this  doctrine,  was  more 
than  man. 


186  Positive  Evidences.  [Partn. 

3.  The  teaching  of  Christ  is  far  superior  to 
that  of  the  philosophers,  as  well  as  to  the 
teachings  of  mere  nature:  1st.  In  its  intense 
earnestness  and  reality,  and  in  its  appeal  to 
every  principle — the  love  of  God,  the  love  of 
Christ,  the  feeling  of  benevolence,  self-love, 
the  perception  of  moral  beauty,  the  sense  of 
truth,  the  love  of  justice,  the  appreciation  of 
the  honorable,  the  sense  of  self-respect,  the 
love  of  approbation,  and  even  the  desire  for 
praise — to  all,  in  short,  that  acts  mightily  on 
human  nature.  This  is  in  the  most  striking 
contrast  with  the  philosophers,  both  ancient 
and  modern.  A  large  part  of  their  attention 
is  directed  to  mere  abstract  speculation — as, 
e.  g.,  concerning  the  grounds  and  nature  of 
moral  obligation,  in  which,  as  they  have  de- 
termined in  favor  of  one  or  the  other  theory, 
they  have  elaborated  systems  based  on  partial 
principles,  and  in  disregard  of  some  of  the 
great  realities  of  man's  moral  constitution,  be- 
sides being  otherwise  partial  and  local.  But 
the  New  Testament  is  catholic  as  human  nat- 
ure. 2d.  In  its  entire  freedom  from  all  at- 
tempts to  deal  with  either  political  or  social 
questions,  and  that  too  when  Christ  professed 
to  be  the  Founder  of  a  kingdom.  The  univer- 
sal practice  of  the  great  philosophers  of  the 
ancient  world  (cf.  Ueberweg's  "  History  of  Phi- 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  187 

losophy")  was  precisely  the  reverse.  With 
them,  in  fact,  ethics  was  but  a  branch  of  poli- 
tics. The  political  and  social  legislation  in 
the  religion  of  Mohammed,  also,  is  well  known 
as  the  rock  on  which  it  is  being  hopelessly 
shipwrecked.  Against  Christianity,  on  the 
other  hand,  it  has  been  charged  as  a  defect  in 
its  principles,  that  it  dwells  so  little  on  public 
duties  and  virtues ;  but  it  is  evident  that  in 
this  it  is  singularly  wise.  If  Christ  had  thus 
begun  his  work  of  regenerating  mankind,  Chris- 
tianity would  not  have  survived  the  century 
which  gave  it  birth.  In  its  avoidance,  then, 
of  this  danger  we  see  the  evidence  of  superior 
wisdom,  and  realize  that  its  Author  must  have 
possessed  an  insight  more  than  human.  3d. 
It  has  founded  the  religion  of  humanity.  "  Ye 
shall  neither  in  this  mountain,  nor  yet  at  Jeru- 
salem, worship  the  Father ;  .  .  .  but  the  hour 
cometh,  and  now  is,  when  the  true  worshipers 
shall  worship  the  Father  in  spirit  and  in  truth ; 
for  the  Father  seeketh  such  to  worship  him. 
God  is  a  Spirit ;  and  they  that  worship  him 
must  worship  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth,"  said 
Jesus  to  the  Samaritan  woman  (John  iv.  20- 
24).  In  thus  repudiating  at  once  all  that  was 
national,  local,  and  outward,  Jesus  founded  his 
religion,  his  spirituality,  and  the  spirituality 
of  true  worship.    Even  Renan  says  that  in  this 


188  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

utterance  he  has  "forever  laid  deep  the  foun- 
dation of  the  religion  of  universal  humanity." 
4th.  Its  all-comprehensive  law  of  duty,  declar- 
ing man's  duty  to  man:  (1)  As  founded  on, 
and  originating  in,  his  filial  relation  to  God  as 
the  universal  Father  of  all  men,  and  giving 
rise  thereby  to  the  universal  brotherhood  of 
man.  The  latter  principle  was  but  dimly  con- 
ceived, at  best,  by  any  of  the  ancients,  and  then 
only  as  a  barren  speculation;  while  also  all 
modern  anti-Christian  systems  find  it  impos- 
sible to  announce  any  principle  (cf.,  e.  g.,  that 
men  are  the  descendants  of  some  primeval  sav- 
age, or  that  we  should  practice  self-sacrifice  for 
others,  because  it  is,  on  the  whole,  more  expe- 
dient, etc.)  which  can  form  any  effectual  basis 
upon  which  it  may  rest.  (2)  As  measured  by 
the  regard  which  man  feels  for  himself — "Do 
unto  others  as  ye  would  have  them  do  unto 
you,"  etc.  (3)  As  measured  and  sanctioned 
by  the  obligation  he  is  under  to  Jesus  Christ. 
"Love  one  another  as  I  have  loved  you,"  he 
bids  us — carrying  the  law  of  duty  and  self-sac- 
rifice to  its  extremest  limits,  beyond  which  it  is 
impossible  for  human  thought  to  pass,  and  in- 
cluding every  social  duty  which  man  can  owe 
to  man.  5th.  That  every  mental  gift,  worldly 
possession,  or  other  advantage,  which  man  pos- 
sesses, as  well  as  the  position  in  society  he  oc- 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  189 

cupies,  is  a  stewardship  intrusted  to  him  by 
God,  for  the  right  discharge  of  which  he  is  re- 
sponsible. 6th.  The  relative  importance  he  as- 
signs to  the  milder  virtues — as  meekness,  pity, 
and  especially  humility  (vide  Sermon  on  the 
Mount),  making  them  predominant,  while  the 
philosophers  have  ever  put  highest  the  polit- 
ical or  heroic  virtues  of  courage,  patriotism, 
and  ambition.  But  ever  since  Christ,  it  can- 
not be  doubted  that  an  overwhelming  majority 
of  the  wisest  and  holiest  of  men  have  accepted 
this  teaching  as  right ;  and  it  is  evident  that 
if  those  principles  had,  during  the  last  three 
thousand  years,  occupied  the  place  of  the  he- 
roic virtues  in  men's  estimation,  the  happiness 
of  mankind  would  have  increased  a  thousand- 
fold. 7th.  Christ  viewed  his  mission  as  to  the 
masses  of  mankind ;  the  philosophers  and  the 
followers  of  natural  religion,  to  a  small  intel- 
lectual aristocracy,  and  "to  those  of  mankind 
who  have  a  natural  tendency  to  virtue,"  as 
Plato  said — while  Christ  came  not  to  "  call  the 
righteous,  but  sinners,  to  repentance."  8th. 
The  creation  by  Christianity  of  a  mighty  moral 
and  spiritual  power  adequate  to  effect  the  re- 
generation of  mankind.  Of  the  want  of  this 
the  ancient  philosophers  confessed  their  need, 
but  never  even  claimed  they  had  wherewith 
to  heal  the  acknowledged  moral  corruption  of 


190  Positive  Evidences.  [Partii. 

man  (vide  Aristotle,  "  Ethics,"  book  x.,  ch.  10). 
They  never  even  thought  of  preaching  repent- 
ance and  amendment  to  the  masses  of  men, 
and  only  a  small  body  of  ingenuous  youths, 
born  with  a  natural  tendency  toward  what  is 
good  and  noble,  were  supposed  capable  of  re- 
ceiving their  instructions.  They  could  only 
appeal  to  the  love  of  the  beautiful  and  the 
good,  or  to  the  powerful  principle  of  habit, 
and  such  like  springs  of  action.  But  what 
were  these  to  those  who,  without  any  new  prin- 
ciple of  moral  life,  or  powerful  conviction,  were 
already  vicious,  and  already  under  the  domin- 
ion of  bad  habits  ?  All  that  could  be  done  for 
such  persons  was  to  bring  upon  them  the  ex- 
ternal power  of  coercion.  Hence  the  political 
character  of  all  the  ancient,  and  several  of  the 
modern,  systems  of  ethics.*    (Also  cf.  the  doc- 

*  Consider  also  the  full  significance  of  the  following  tes- 
timonies :  "  The  farther  the  ages  advance  in  cultivation, 
the  more  can  the  Bible  be  used,  partly  as  the  foundation, 
partly  as  the  means,  of  education — not,  of  course,  by  super- 
ficial, but  by  really  wise,  men." — Goethe.  "I  have  exam- 
ined all,  as  well  as  my  narrow  sphere,  my  straitened  means, 
and  my  busy  life,  would  allow  me,  and  the  result  is,  the 
Bible  is  the  best  book  in  the  world." — J.  Adams.  "  Peruse 
the  books  of  philosophers,  with  all  their  pomp  and  diction — 
how  meager,  how  contemptible,  are  they  when  compared 
with  the  Scriptures !  The  majesty  of  the  Scriptures  strikes 
me  with  admiration." — Rousseau.  "  I  have  always  been 
strongly  in  favor  of  secular  education — in  the  sense  of  edu- 


Ch.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Ecidence.  191 

trine  of  "the  survival  of  the  fittest" — the  min- 
istration of  death  to  the  degraded  masses  of 
mankind.) 

But  Christ  created  a  moral  and  spiritual 
power  capable  of  stirring  the  hearts  of  men  to 
their  lowest  depths — i.  e.,  faith,  which,  if  we 
grant  to  the  skeptic,  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
that  such  changes  are  not  the  product  of  su- 
pernatural power  working  directly  upon  the 
soul,  has  actually  succeeded  in  recovering  to 
holiness  a  multitude  of  fallen  men,  such  as  no 
man  can  number.  He  has  likewise  created  the 
greatest  of  Societies  —  namely,  the  Christian 
Church — in  which  the  subjects  of  his  spiritual 
kingdom  may  be  trained  to  holiness  ;  for  faith 
produces  a  conviction  in  the  innermost  spirit  of 

cation  without  theology — but  I  must  confess  I  have  been  no 
less  seriously  perplexed  to  know  by  what  practical  measures 
the  religious  feeling,  which  is  the  essential  basis  of  conduct, 
was  to  be  kept  up,  in  the  present  utterly  chaotic  state  of 
opinion  on  these  matters,  without  the  use  of  the  Bible.  The 
pagan  moralists  lack  life  and  color,  and  even  the  noble 
Stoic,  Marcus  Antoninus,  is  too  high  and  refined  for  an  or- 
dinary child.  Take  the  Bible  as  a  whole,  make  the  severest 
deductions  which  fair  criticism  can  dictate,  and  there  still 
remains  in  this  old  literature  a  vast  residuum  of  moral 
beauty  and  grandeur.  By  the  study  of  what  other  book 
could  children  be  so  much  humanized?  If  Bible-reading 
is  not  accompanied  by  constraint  and  solemnity,  I  do  not 
believe  there  is  any  thing  in  which  children  take  more 
pleasure." — Huxley. 


192  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

man,  respecting  the  eternal  realities  of  things, 
and  thus  concentrates  on  the  conscience  the 
whole  force  of  the  religious  principle  in  man. 
It  then  presents  to  him  the  person  of  Jesus  in 
the  divine  attractiveness  of  his  life  and  death 
— the  perfect  embodiment  of  all  that  is  pure, 
holy,  and  lovely,  in  God  or  man,  as  the  center 
of  a  new  spiritual  life;  and  thus  has  it  re- 
stored to  holiness  multitudes  of  degraded  men, 
and  has  elevated  every  holy  man  who  has 
come  under  its  influence  to  yet  higher  degrees 
of  holiness.  But  neither  philosophy  nor  the 
system  of  natural  religion  has  had  any  very 
profound  convictions ;  it  professed  even  to  deal 
only  in  probabilities.  The  philosopher,  there- 
fore, could  not  grapple  with  the  conscience. 
All  he  could  do  was  to  appeal  to  cold  reason ; 
he  could  awaken  no  emotion,  nor  summon  any 
force  capable  of  overcoming  the  violence  of  the 
passions.  The  best  he  could  do  was  to  form 
an  ideal  republic,  or  a  shadowy,  abstract  sys- 
tem of  morals — while  Christ  has  created  the 
Christian  Church. 

Thus  does  Christianity  show  its  superiority 
to  all  that  has  originated  from  merely  human 
deduction,  or  is  taught  by  the  light  of  nature 
alone.  In  its  original  and  unimprovable  ex- 
cellence ;  in  its  undisguised  openness  to  all  the 
world ;  in  its  adaptation  to  every  state,  dispo- 


Cii.  4.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  193 

sition,  and  capacity,  of  man  ;  in  its  spirituality 
of  worship,  its  humbling  of  men,  and  its  exal- 
tation of  the  Deity ;  in  its  restoration  of  order 
to  the  world ;  its  tendency  to  eradicate  all  evil 
passions  from  the  heart ;  its  contrariety  to  the 
covetousness  and  ambition  of  mankind;  its 
restoration  of  the  divine  image  to  man,  in- 
stead, as  other  religions,  of  weakly  and  vi- 
ciously affixing  the  moral  image  of  man  on 
God,  and  in  its  mighty  effects — in  all  alike, 
Christianity  is  far  superior  to  aught  else  that 
has  ever  appeared  in  the  world,  and  in  its 
greatness  and  glory  proclaims  itself  as  no  less 
than  divine. 

We  next  proceed  to  consider  the  prophecies 
of  Christ. 
9 


194  Positive  Evidences.  [part  II. 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE   EVIDENCE   OF   PROPHECY. 

Prophecies,  as  we  have  seen,  are  "miracles 
of  knowledge,"  and,  consisting  in  "  the  decla- 
ration of  things  future  beyond  the  power  of 
human  sagacity  to  discern  or  calculate,  they 
are  the  highest  evidence  that  can  be  given  of 
a  revelation  from  God."  Christianity,  bearing 
not  one  only  but  all  the  marks  of  divinity  that 
we  can  require,  and  challenging  from  every 
side  the  closest  inspection  of  her  claims,  invites 
us  to  behold  also  this  "highest  evidence"  of 
prophecy,  and  to  see  that  in  all  her  aspects 
there  is  displayed  the  glory  of  her  divine 
origin.  In  bringing  this  class  of  evidences 
forward,  we  are  entitled  to  cite  the  prophecies 
contained  in  the  Old  Testament,  as  well  as 
those  in  the  New,  in  support  of  our  position ; 
for  it  is  evident  to  every  candid  mind  that, 
whether  divine  or  not,  all  contained  in  both 
divisions  of  the  Bible  forms  but  one  great  sys- 
tem in  successive  phases  of  development,  from 
the  patriarchs  to  Christ.  Whatsoever,  therefore, 
goes  to  prove  the  divinity  of  any  stage  of  that 
development,  is  evidence  of  the  divinity  of  the 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Eoidence.  195 

organic  whole,  and  of  every  other  stage.  If 
Judaism  was  divine,  then  must  Christianity 
also — which  is  but  the  perfected  fruit  of  Juda- 
ism divested  at  length  of  its  old,  hardened,  and 
burst  shell  of  ritualism — be  divine.  More- 
over, many  of  the  most  explicit  of  the  Old 
Testament  prophecies  relate  directly  and  plain- 
ly to  Christianity,  and  testify  expressly  to  its 
divine  origin.  From  the  nature  of  the  case, 
too,  the  argument  derived  from  the  fulfillment 
of  the  prophecies  contained  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment is  far  fuller  than  that  from  the  fulfillment 
of  those  in  the  New.  The  simple  fact  that  the 
latter  were  delivered  so  much  later  than  the 
former,  necessarily  causes  their  fulfillment  to 
be  as  yet  more  incomplete.  The  larger  part 
of  the  latter  probably  still  remain  to  be  ful- 
filled, but  most  of  the  former  have  already 
completely  come  to  pass.  The  argument,  there- 
fore, drawn  from  the  prophecies  of  the  New 
Testament,  is  as  yet  much  more  limited  than 
if  it  were  extended  also  to  those  of  the  Old. 
Nevertheless,  we  will  confine  ourselves  entire- 
ly to  those  delivered  by  our  Lord  —  merely 
asking  the  reader  to  bear  in  mind  also  those 
already  cited  from  the  Old  Testament — feeling- 
confident  that  a  sufficient  number  even  of  these 
will  be  found  to  be  true  beyond  all  reasonable 
doubt.     Keeping  in  mind,  then,  how  much  the 


196  Positive  Evidences.  [part  IT. 

argument  is  strengthened  by  the  accomplished 
fulfillment  of  the  older  prophecies,  and  reflect- 
ing that  therefore  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  ex- 
pect it  to  continually  gather  fresh  force  from 
the  future  accomplishment  of  most  of  the  later, 
we  cite  the  following  plain  predictions  of  Christ, 
of  whose  fulfillment  no  one  can  doubt : 

1.  Christ  distinctly  foretold  his  death  and 
its  circumstances.  In  Matthew  it  is  said: 
"  From  that  time  forth  [or  about  a  year  and  a 
half  before  his  crucifixion ;  cf.  Lange  on  Matt, 
vi.  13-21 ;  ii.  6,  etc.]  began  Jesus  to  show  unto 
his  disciples  how  that  he  must  go  unto  Jerusa- 
lem, and  suffer  many  things  of  the  elders,  and 
chief  priests,  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and 
be  raised  again  the  third  day  "  (Matt.  xvi.  21). 
Mark  says :  "And  he  began  to  teach  them  that 
the  Son  of  man  must  suffer  many  things,  and 
be  rejected  of  the  elders,  and  of  the  chief 
priests,  and  scribes,  and  be  killed,  and  after 
three  days  rise  again  "  (Mark  viii.  31).  Luke, 
that  he  said:  "The  Son  of  man  must  suffer 
many  things,  and  be  rejected  of  the  elders,  and 
chief  priests,  and  scribes,  and  be  slain,  and  be 
raised  the  third  day  "  (Luke  ix.  22).  Here  are 
three  separate  and  independent  testimonies 
to  the  fact  that  he  uttered  a  prediction  of  his 
sufferings  in  general,  of  his  rejection  by  the 
chief  priests  and  scribes,  that  he  should  die  a 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  197 

violent  death,  and  that  on  the  third  day  he 
should  rise  again.  We  have  seen  how  impos- 
sible (Part  I.,  Ch.  4)  it  is  that  the  accounts 
of  the  Gospel  were  forged.  The  differences 
which  otherwise  exist  between  their  different 
authors,  prove  that  they  were  not  in  collusion. 
Their  substantial  agreement,  therefore,  on  the 
other  hand,  shows  that  their  accounts  are  true. 
And  the  minute  mention  of  the  various  cir- 
cumstances above,  of  the  sufferings,  rejection, 
death,  and  resurrection,  predicted  of  Christ  by 
himself,  is  a  strong  mark  of  his  divine  mission. 
Moreover,  he  also  predicted  (Matt.  xx.  18,  19) 
that  he  "  should  be  betrayed ; "  that  the  scribes 
should  "  condemn  him  to  death;"  that  tliey 
should  "deliver  him  to  the  Gentiles;"  that 
they  should  do  this  for  the  Gentiles  (1)  "to 
mock;"  (2)  "to  scourge;"  and  (3)  "to  crucify 
him ;"  and  afterward  (Matt.  xxvi.  23-25),  that 
it  should  be  Judas  who  should  betray  him; 
and  still  farther  (Mark  x.  33,  34),  that  the  Gen- 
tiles should  "spit  upon  him."  Now,  all  these 
were  precisely  fulfilled.  But  no  merely  human 
foresight  could  have  foretold  such  incidental 
circumstances.  An  enthusiast  would  not  have 
anticipated  his  rejection  and  crucifixion  at 
all,  and  an  impostor  would  never  have  dared 
to  give,  beforehand,  so  numerous  and  so  mi- 
nute tests  of  the  validity  of  his  claims.     The 


198  Positive  Ecidences.  [Part  II. 

conclusion  must  be  that  Christ  was  a  Prophet 
sent  from  God,  and  commissioned  for  a  divine 
purpose. 

2.  This  is  still  more  strongly  the  case  with 
his  predictions  of  his  resurrection.  We  have 
seen  in  the  passages  already  quoted  how  dis- 
tinctly he  foretold  it.  It  will  be  our  task  here- 
after to  show  how  certainly  he  did  rise  again 
on  the  third  clay.  For  the  present,  it  will  be 
sufficient  to  direct  attention  to  the  irresistible 
force  of  the  evidence  the  fulfillment  of  this 
prophecy  gives  to  the  divinity  of  the  mission 
of  Christ;  for  however  a  man  might  venture 
to  utter  Dredictions  as  to  his  death  and  its  cir- 
cumstances, and  through  a  wonderful  but  still 
human  prescience  be  able  to  forecast  them, 
minutely  and  correctly,  yet  never  could  a  mere 
man  foresee  that  he  should  be  raised  again 
from  the  dead,  and  that  too  on  the  third  day. 
Yet  Christ  did  so  predict  it :  we  think  it  will 
be  made  evident  that  thus  it  accordingly  came 
to  pass ;  and,  putting  aside  for  the  present  the 
evidence  given  in  the  miraculous  nature  of  the 
occurrence  itself,  its  prediction  alone  strongly 
proves  the  divine  mission  of  him  who  uttered  it. 

3.  We  proceed  to  point  out  briefly  some  oth- 
ers of  his  prophecies  fulfilled  in  later  times. 
Such  was  that  of  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem, 
with  its  attendant  circumstances.    Christ  pre- 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  199 

dieted  (Luke  xxi.  20-24),  "When  ye  shall  see 
Jerusalem  compassed  with  armies,  then  know 
that  the  desolation  thereof  is  nigh ;  .  .  .  and 
they  shall  fall  by  the  edge  of  the  sword,  and 
shall  be  led  away  captive  into  all  nations;" 
that,  speaking  of  Jerusalem  (Luke  xix.  43), 
"  The  days  shall  come  upon  thee  that  thine 
enemies  shall  cast  a  trench  round  about  thee, 
and  compass  thee  round,  and  keep  thee  in  on 
every  side ; "  and  that,  in  respect  to  the  temple 
(Matt.  xxiv.  2),  "  The  days  will  come,  in  the 
which  there  shall  not  be  left  here  one  stone 
upon  another  that  shall  not  be  thrown  down." 
All  this  came  exactly  to  pass.  Beyond  all 
question  (cf.  Part  L,  Ch.  4),  the  accounts  con- 
tained in  the  Gospels  were  in  existence  before 
that  time.  No  scholar,  however  skeptical,  will 
deny  this.  Yet  it  is  a  notorious  historical 
fact  (vide  Josephus,  De  Bello.  Jud.  Lib.  i.-vi.) 
that  Jerusalem,  about  forty  years  afterward, 
was  thus  besieged  by  Titus,  a  trench  was  lit- 
erally cast  around  it,  and  it  was  entirely  sur- 
rounded by  the  Roman  armies;  so  that  it 
was  really"  compassed  round,  and  kept  in  on 
every  side."  Moreover,  when  taken,  it  was 
completely  "desolated,"  its  inhabitants  "fell 
by  the  sword,  and  were  led  away  captive  into 
all  nations,"  being  sold  by  thousands  as  slaves 
into  the  surrounding  nations,  and  the  temple 


200  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

was  utterly  and  remarkably  destroyed,  so  that 
there  was  not  "left  one  stone  upon  another 
that  was  not  cast  down." 

4.  Still  more  remarkable  is  his  prediction  of 
the  continued  subjugation  of  Jerusalem  follow- 
ing its  capture.  In  the  same  passage  of  Luke 
(xxi.  24)  he  said,  "And  Jerusalem  shall  be 
'trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles  until  the  times  of 
the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled."  In  this  prophecy, 
following  in  immediate  connection  that  of  the 
capture  and  devastation  of  Jerusalem,  it  is  im- 
plied (1)  that,  from  the  time  of  this  capture, 
Jerusalem,  for  a  long,  indefinite  time,  should 
continue  to  exist  as  a  city — "trodden  down," 
not  destroyed;  (2)  that  its  condition  during 
that  time  should  be  not  that  of  freedom,  but 
of  subjugation,  by  "the  Gentiles,"  and  that  of 
the  most  grievous  and  humiliating  kind — 
"trodden  down;"  (3)  and,  finally,  it  is  inti- 
mated that  at  last,  when  "the  times  of  the 
Gentiles "  should  have  been  fulfilled,  it  shall 
be  no  longer  "trodden  down  of  the  Gentiles." 
Every  one  of  these  particulars,  except  the  last, 
predicted,  beyond  all  cavil,  at  least  eighteen 
hundred  years  ago,  has  been  already  signally 
fulfilled.  (1)  Jerusalem  has  never  ceased  to 
exist  as  a  city.  While  Babylon  and  Tyre, 
Corinth,  Ephesus,  and  many  others,  that  were 
overwhelmed  by  the  fire  and  sword  of  the  Ro- 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  201 

man,  or  sunk  under  the  still  surer  ravages  of 
time,  have  risen  no  more,  Jerusalem  has  ever 
remained  an  inhabited  city.  Who  but  Om- 
niscience, that  could  have  even  foreseen  her 
terrible  devastations,  could  have  also  antici- 
j)ated  her  recovery  ?  (2)  Nevertheless,  it  has 
also  ever  since  continued  to  this  day  in  abject 
subjugation  to  "the  Gentiles."  After  the  Ro- 
mans, the  Persians  succeeded  to  the  dominion 
over  it;  from  them  the  Mohammedan  invad- 
ers of  Arabia  wrested  it ;  then  the  Crusaders ; 
again  the  Arabians,  and  lastly  the  Turks,  have 
successively  occupied  it  unto  this  day.  More- 
over, the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  their  own 
holy  city  has  been  more  constantly  miserable 
than  perhaps  anywhere  else  in  the  world. 
Even  now  they  are  treated  with  greater  cru- 
elty and  contempt  in  Jerusalem,  by  its  Turk- 
ish conquerors,  than  are  the  people  of  any 
other  nation,  strangers  or  natives.  In  A.D. 
135  the  Romans,  after  suppressing  a  revolt 
made  by  the  Jews,  forbade  them,  on  pain  of 
death,  from  even  entering  the  city,  and  that 
prohibition  lasted  till  the  time  of  Constantine, 
A.D.  300-337,  when  it  was  repealed,  but  only 
so  far  as  that  they  were  allowed  to  enter  it  once 
a  year,  to  wail  over  the  desolation  of  "the  holy 
and  beautiful  house  in  which  their  fathers  wor- 
shiped God"  (vide  McClintock  and  Strong's  Cy- 
9* 


202  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

clopsedia,  Art.  Jerusalem)  ;  and  ever  since,  the 
Jews  have  there  been  under  peculiar  oppres- 
sion. Thus  Christ's  words  have  been,  through 
eighteen  hundred  years,  precisely  fulfilled,  and 
Jerusalem  has  been  "trodden  down  of  the 
Gentiles."  (3)  From  the  expression  used,  that 
thus  it  should  be  "until  the  times  of  the  Gen- 
tiles be  fulfilled,"  it  is  probably  a  correct  infer- 
ence to  draw  that  when  those  "times"  shall 
have  been  accomplished,  Jerusalem  shall  be 
no  more  trodden  down,  and  the  Jew  no  longer 
a  reproach  in  the  earth,  but  both  shall  resume 
that  independence,  prosperity,  and  greatness 
of  station  among  the  nations,  which  they  had 
before.  This,  of  course,  still  remains  unful- 
filled ;  but  the  remarkable  fact  of  the  preser- 
vation of  the  Jews  as  a  nation,  through  the 
ages,  though  "scattered"  among  all  nations, 
and  "peeled,"  if  it  does  not  directly  point  to 
its  accomplishment,  at  least  proves  its  possi- 
bility; while  for  the  first  time  in  so  many 
centuries  it  has  of  late  at  last  seemed  capable 
of  being  fulfilled,  and  we  have  been  hearing 
from  time  to  time  of  the  probability,  under  the 
influence  of  recent  great  political  changes,  etc., 
of  the  Jew  once  more  resuming  his  dominion 
of  the  land  and  city  of  his  fathers. 

5.  Christ  prophesied  also  (Matt.  xxiv.  14) 
that  "this  gospel  of  the  kingdom   shall  be 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  203 

preached  in  all  the  world  for  a  witness  unto 
all  nations."  Nothing  seemed  then  more  un- 
likely to  human  foresight  than  this.  Judea 
itself  was  but  a  small  and  despised  country, 
and  the  Jews  were  everywhere  held  in  detes- 
tation. How  unlikely  that  a  doctrine  origi- 
nating among  Jews,  and  preached  by  Jews, 
without  either  the  learning  of  the  Greek  or 
the  power  of  the  Roman  to  recommend  it, 
should  yet  find  its  way  down  the  remotest  ages 
of  posterity,  and  throughout  all  nations !  For 
Christ's  doctrine  was  rejected  even  by  the  leaders 
of  the  Jewish  nation  itself  and  he  executed  by 
them,  and  his  followers  persecuted,  as  also 
they  afterward  were  by  the  whole  power  of  the 
Roman  Government,  in  ten  great  successive 
persecutions.  How  improbable  did  it  seem 
that  it  could  at  all  survive,  when  its  own  na- 
tion had  disowned  it,  and  was  striving  to 
stamp  it  out  of  existence !  or,  if  it  might  lin- 
ger obscurely  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of 
Galilee,  how  unlikely  for  it  to  ever  spread 
abroad,  even  to  the  neighboring  and  kindred 
tribes!  and  how  utterly  impossible  that  it 
should  ever  prevail  in  distant  continents,  and 
among  strange  and  unknown  races  of  men! 
And  what  impostor  would  have  dared  to  give  by 
such  a  declaration  such  a  test  for  succeeding  ages, 
by  which  they  might  so  easily  expose  and  ridicule 


204  Positive  Evidences.  [PartlL 

his  claims  ?  Yet,  standing  where  we  are  to-day, 
we  behold  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  fast  ex- 
tending to  every  land  under  heaven.  Almost 
already  is  the  prophecy  fulfilled.  The  next 
generation  will,  without  doubt,  behold  every 
nation  and  tribe,  even  to  the  smallest  and 
most  obscure,  visited  by  the  missionary  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ. 

6.  Christ  also  predicted  that  he  should  have 
an  enduring  Church.  He  said  (Matt.  xvi.  18), 
"Upon  this  rock  I  will  build  my  Church,  and 
the  gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it." 
This  too  seemed  most  improbable.  When,  re- 
jected by  the  Jews  themselves,  despised  by 
the  wisdom-loving  Greeks,  and  persecuted  un- 
relentingly by  the  all-powerful  Romans ;  when 
all  of  earth  that  was  esteemed  wise  and  power- 
ful was  to  unite  in  contemning  and  extirpating 
it — it  was  a  bold  prophecy  to  foretell,  never- 
theless, its  perpetual  existence.  When  the 
walls  of  Babylon  and  Tyre,  and  the  world- 
wide empire  of  Alexander,  had  already  fallen 
into  the  dust  before  their  various  enemies,  and 
the  great  empires  of  Persia,  Rome,  and  of  the 
Saracens,  were  destined  to  fall  in  their  turn,  it 
was  most  improbable  that  that  of  the  Peasant 
of  Galilee  should  continue,  victorious  over  all 
the  "gates  of  hell,"  to  remotest  times,  and  in 
remotest  nations.     Nevertheless,  so  it  has  re- 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  205 

ally  been.     Christ's  Church  is  stronger  to-day 
than  ever  before. 

We  confidently  offer,  then,  these  prophecies 
as  infallible  marks  of  the  divine  mission  of 
Christ,  and  therefore  of  the  divinity  of  Chris- 
tianity—  the  result  of  that  mission.  They 
prove  him  to  have  been  supernaturally  en- 
dowed with  a  knowledge  of  the  future,  such 
as  has  never  been  approached,  in  the  slightest 
degree,  by  any  one,  however  wise,  outside  of 
the  prophets  of  the  Bible.  The  predictions 
alleged  of  the  ancient  oracles  are  not  worthy 
of  comparison  with  them.  Home  has  shown 
in  his  "Introduction"  that,  in  contrast  with 
the  prophecies  of  the  Bible,  those  of  the  ora- 
cles— 1.  Gave  no  prediction  spontaneously,  but 
only  when  applied  to,  and  paid  for  it.  2.  Their 
obvious  end  was  to  satisfy  some  trivial  curios- 
ity, or  to  aid  some  ambitious  man  in  his  de- 
signs. 3.  They  were  never  given  except  after 
elaborate,  prescribed  ceremonies,  the  neglect 
or  wrong  observance  of  any  one  of  which  was 
said  to  vitiate  the  whole  proceeding — thus  giv- 
ing an  easy  way  of  accounting  for  a  failure  in 
the  accomplishment  of  the  thing  predicted. 
4.  The  few  oracles  they  at  last  gave  related 
merely  to  some  single,  disconnected  event.  5. 
They  seldom  or  ever  were  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  be  in  support  of  morality,  purity,  justice, 


206  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

etc.  6.  They  were  generally  ambiguous,  and 
capable  of  being  interpreted  either  way,  ac- 
cording to  the  event.  Thus  the  famous  re- 
sponse rendered  to  Croesus,  when  he  was  about 
to  make  war  against  the  Persians,  and  had  in- 
quired whether  he  should  succeed.  The  ora- 
cle declared  that  "  he  would  destroy  a  great 
empire,"  which  Croesus  interpreted  to  mean 
that  he  would  destroy  the  Persians.  But  after 
having  been  ruined  in  the  war  himself,  the 
oracle  interpreted  it  to  mean,  that  "  he  should 
destroy  his  own  empire."  7.  Their  oracles 
did  not  extend  beyond  their  own  territories, 
nor  more  than  a  very  few  years  into  the  future. 

8.  They  were  not  committed  to  writing  in 
books  open  to  public  inspection,  so  that  their 
truth  or  falsity  might  afterward  be  examined. 

9.  Nevertheless,  notwithstanding  all  the  above 
means  of  escape  from  detection,  the  heathen 
oracles  were  frequently  found  to  be  unques- 
tionably false,  and,  especially  in  later  times, 
came  to  be  held  in  utter  contempt.  On  the 
contrary,  the  prophecies  of  Christ — 1.  Were 
delivered  openly.  2.  They  were  not  such  as 
flattered  the  national  vanity,  but  such  as  hu- 
miliated the  Jews,  and  with  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  most  fearful  denunciations  against 
them  for  their  sins.  3.  He  gained  no  riches  or 
power  thereby,  but  persecution  and  death.    4. 


Ch.  5.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  207 

His  prophecies  were  a  part  of  one  great  whole 
of  prophecy,  extending  in  a  connected  chain 
from  Moses,  and  before  Moses,  down,  and 
treating  as  its  great  subject-matter  of  the  es- 
tablishment and  prosperity  of  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  among  men.  5.  They  are  all  in  sup- 
port of  morality  and  true  religion.  6.  They 
are  express  and  distinct,  in  many  instances,  as 
to  the  circumstances  of  the  event  predicted. 
7.  Usually  they  seemed  most  improbable  at 
the  time  they  were  uttered.  8.  They  reached, 
in  some  cases,  hundreds,  and  even  thousands, 
of  years  forward,  and  embraced  all  nations  in 
its  view.  9.  They  were  committed  to  writing, 
and  have  always  been  open  to  public  inspec- 
tion. 10.  Not  one  has  ever  been  shown  to 
be  false,  while  history,  as  it  has  during  succes- 
sive revolutions  unfolded  its  changing  pages, 
has  proclaimed,  one  by  one,  at  long  intervals, 
the  accomplishment  of  many  of  them. 

Say  what  we  may,  human  penetration  is  un- 
equal to  this.  No  man,  however  skillful  and 
experienced,  can,  of  his  own  powers,  so  fore- 
cast the  coming  future,  or  ever  has  predicted, 
or  shall  predict  with  perfect  accuracy,  a  future 
state  of  things,  involving  a  long,  complicated, 
and  connected  series  of  events,  extending  over 
hundreds  of  years  yet  to  come.  Yet  such 
are  the  prophecies  of  Christ.     We  confidently 


208  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

claim  that  they  therefore  bear  the  unmistaka- 
ble impress  of  Him  who  "  seeth  all  things  from 
the  beginning ; "  and  standing,  as  they  do,  ut- 
terly without  a  parallel  in  the  records  of  the 
human  race,  they  prove  that  they,  and  the 
Christian  system  to  which  they  bear  witness, 
are  superhuman  and  divine. 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Eoidence.  209 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE   EVIDENCE    OF    MIRACLES — I.    IN  GENERAL. 

To  all  the  preceding  we  now  add  the  evidence 
of  miracles,  both  as  affording  its  separate  tes- 
timony, and  as  confirming  the  testimony  of-  all 
that  has  gone  before.  It  is,  perhaps,  impos- 
sible to  define  a  miracle  with  any  certainty, 
farther  than  by  describing  its  visible  results 
apparent  in  the  person  or  thing  upon  which  it 
has  been  wrought.  To  go  farther,  and  attempt 
to  define  the  process  and  means  by  which  it 
has  been  accomplished,  is  surely  always  uncer- 
tain, and  often  likely  to  be  positively  false. 
That  which  is  in  its  essential  nature  above  the 
human  cannot,  it  would  seem,  with  any  cer- 
tainty, be  discovered  and  known  by  powers 
that  are  themselves  only  human.  Revelation 
may  disclose  it ;  but  till  revelation  does  disclose 
it,  all  our  attempts  are  but  more  or  less  uncer- 
tain speculations.  They  may  indeed  happen 
to  be  true  speculations,  but  it  appears  impos- 
sible for  us  to  know  certainly  whether  they  are 
true  or  false  till  it  be  revealed  to  us  by  a  supe- 
rior Intelligence  from  on  high.  At  any  rate, 
since  revelation  has  not  told  us  how  a  miracle 


210  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

is  wrought,  we  shall  not  attempt  to  explain  it 
here.  It  will  be  sufficient  to  say,  that  by  mir- 
acles we  mean  those  great  works  which  are 
commonly  known  by  that  name,  related  in  the 
Bible  as  wrought  by  those  who  claimed  to  be 
commissioned  from  God  to  deliver  his  message 
to  men.  These  we  claim  show  superhuman 
wisdom  and  power  attendant  upon  those  who 
wrought  them,  and  prove,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  modus  operandi  of  their  performance, 
that  those  persons  were  indeed  the  authorized 
exponents  of  a  divine  message  to  men.  It  is 
no  objection  to  this  conclusion  that  we  know 
not  by  what  method  this  result  has  been  ac- 
complished. We  may  see  the  marks  of  divine 
power  and  wisdom  in  the  result  before  us 
without  knowing  at  all  by  what  process  it  was 
done.  We  perceive,  for  example,  these  signs 
in  the  work  of  creation  around  us,  yet  we  know 
nothing  at  all  how  God  worked  in  accomplish- 
ing creation ;  we  know  only  that  in  some  way 
he  has  put  forth  his  all-wise  and  all-powerful 
hand,  and  performed  the  work.  In  miracles, 
also,  we  may  see  the  manifest  tokens  of  the 
same  omnipotent  and  omniscient  Power,  and 
in  the  same  way,  without  knowing  the  process 
of  his  working,  we  may  yet  surely  know  and 
confess  his  presence.  Nay,  even  in  the  accom- 
plished works  of  man's  power  and  skill — as  a 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  211 

watch,  a  steam-engine,  etc. — we  may  see  in  the 
results  before  us  manifest  evidence  that  there 
is  a  work  that  is  certainly  the  product  of  an 
intelligence  no  less  than  human ;  we  know  that 
no  brute,  however  sagacious,  could  have  pro- 
duced it ;  and  yet  we  may  not  have  the  most 
distant  conception  of  the  process  by  which  it 
has  been  made — how  the  metals  were  wrought 
from  the  ore,  the  parts  made  and  adapted  to 
each  other,  etc.  And  so  with  a  miracle,  wrought 
by  the  power  of  God  attendant  upon  his  mes- 
sengers, or  exercised  by  himself  in  the  person 
of  his  Son — we  may  be  convinced  beyond  a 
doubt  that  here  there  is  uthe  finger  of  God," 
though  we  know  nothing  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  God  has  wrought.  It  is,  then,  not 
necessary  for  us  to  enter  into  any  explanation 
of  the  mode  by  which  miracles  have  been 
wrought;  it  is  sufficient  for  us  to  show  that 
the  miracles  of  Christ  possess  characteristics 
that  are  superhuman,  and  which  show  that 
Christianity  therefore  is  divine. 

1.  First,  let  us  notice  in  what  manner  mira- 
cles give  evidence  that  Christianity  is  divine. 
1st.  They  are  in  entire  harmony  with  all  the 
other  superhuman  characteristics  of  revelation. 
As  we  have  seen,  revelation,  if  given  at  all, 
must  necessarily  be  miraculous.  It  is  reason- 
able to  expect,  moreover,  that  the  miraculous 


212  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

should  appear  not  only  in  the  bare  utterance 
of  the  revelation;  for  being  uttered,  as  it  is, 
by,  or  under  the  authority  of,  a  divine  power,, 
present  and  exerted  in  the  act  of  such  utter- 
ance, we  might  reasonably  expect  that  that 
miraculous  power  should  also  appear  in  the 
attendant  circumstances,  and  such  changes 
occur  in  the  natural  world  around  as  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  things  are  unknown,  and 
such  as  give  visible  evidence  of  the  presence 
and  active  working  of  that  power.  Especially 
if  it  is  a  divine  personage  himself  that  speaks, 
would  we  expect  not  only  that  there  should 
come  from  him  divine  truth,  but  also  that  there 
should  break  from  him  divine  power,  exerted 
in  great  and  significant  works  of  superhuman 
might,  wisdom,  and  goodness.  He  who  was 
of  divine  descent  and  divine  character,  whose 
teaching  was  above  that  of  men,  and  who 
uttered  such  wondrous  prophecies,  we  might 
well  expect  would  also  work  miracles.  The 
absence,  then,  of  miracles  would  be  a  serious 
defect  in  the  full  and  rounded  completeness 
of  the  Christian  Evidences.  Their  presence, 
therefore,  harmonizes  with  the  whole  system, 
and  adds  an  additional  characteristic  to  that 
body  of  evidence,  which  thus,  with  the  testi- 
mony also  given  by  the  results,  at  length  lacks 
no  characteristic  necessary  to  prove  the  divin- 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  213 

ity  of  Christianity  that  we  could  reasonably 
require. 

In  addition,  the  miracles  are  themselves  a 
revelation  in  a  practical  way,  and  speak  most 
emphatically  of  the  power,  wisdom,  and  good- 
ness, resident  in  Him  by  whom,  or  in  whose 
name,  they  are  wrought.  We  know  practical- 
ly the  skill  and  knowledge  that  is  possessed 
by  an  artist,  or  a  mechanic,  by  the  works  which 
he  produces.  So  is  the  power,  goodness,  etc., 
of  Christ  revealed  by  his  miracles  as  well  as 
by  his  words.  Thus  miracles  add  to  and  com- 
plete revelation,  while  they  attest  it.  They 
fulfill  our  expectation  of  a  practical  display 
of  the  superhuman  attributes  of  the  Revealer, 
and,  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  superhuman 
nature  of  all  his  other  manifestations,  unite 
with  them  in  majestically  proclaiming  him  to 
be  divine. 

2d.  But  miracles  are  not  an  evidence  mere- 
ly of  the  completeness  and  the  harmony  of 
revelation  within  itself.  They  are,  besides, 
themselves  a  separate  and  positive  proof  of 
the  divinity  of  revelation.  By  their  own  su- 
perhuman character  they  convinced  the  men 
to  whom  revelation  was  first  imparted  that  it 
was  divine,  and  their  accomplishment  remains 
to  us  a  solid  and  convincing  evidence  of  the 
same  great  fact  still.     Peter,  on  the  day  of 


214  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

Pentecost,  only  fifty  clays  after  Christ's  death, 
in  addressing  the  unbelieving  Jews,  and  that 
in  Jerusalem,  boldly  told  them  that  "  Jesus  of 
Nazareth  "  had  been  "  approved  of  God  among 
you  by  miracles,  and  wonders,  and  signs,  which 
God  did  by  him  in  the  midst  of  you,  as  ye  your- 
selves also  know  "  (Acts  ii.  29).  Paul,  too,  writ- 
ing to  the  backsliding  Galatians,  some  of  whom 
had  begun  to  deny  his  apostleship,  could  also 
confidently  appeal  to  his  miracles  wrought 
among  them,  and  say,  "  Truly  the  signs  of  an 
apostle  were  wrought  among  you  in  all  pa- 
tience, in  signs,  and  wonders,  and  mighty  deeds'1 
(2  Cor.  xii.  12).  And  our  Lord  himself  said 
of  those  who  had  rejected  him :  "  If  I  had  not 
done  among  them  the  works  which  none  other 
man  did,  they  had  not  had  sin ;  but  now  have 
they  both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my 
Father.  But  this  cometh  to  pass  that  the 
word  might  be  fulfilled  that  is  written  in  their 
law,  They  hated  me  without  a  cause"  (John 
xv.  24,  25).  From  these  passages  it  appears 
that  the  Scriptures  themselves  represent  mir- 
acles as  signs  by  which  His  messengers  were 
"approved  of  God"  unto  men;  that  without 
them  those  messengers,  even  Christ  himself, 
might  be  rejected  without  "sin;"  but  that, 
having  seen  them,  their  rejecters  had  thereby 
"  seen  "—in  the  exhibitions  of  his  omnipotence 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  215 

in  working  these  miracles — "  the  Father,"  and 
therefore  thenceforward  they  had  no  excuse 
for  their  rejection ;  they  had  had  all-sufficient 
evidence;  "they  hated  me  without  a  cause." 
On  account,  therefore,  of  this  conclusive  nat- 
ure of  the  evidence  given  by  miracles,  and  be- 
cause their  reality  could  not  then  be  disputed, 
our  Lord  and  his  apostles  appealed  to  them  in 
proof  of  their  divine  mission,  with  evidently 
the  utmost  confidence.  Moreover,  we  find  by 
the  quotation  of  them  made  subsequently  to 
their  performance,  by  the  Lord  and  the  apos- 
tles, that  the  miracles  remained  for  after-years 
also  a  standing  proof  of  those  claims,  and,  ac- 
cordingly, we  here  present  them  as  such. 

This  proof,  however,  does  not  arise  merely 
from  their  character  as  "wonders"  merely. 
The  term  "miracle,"  as  used  in  the  English 
version  to  denote  the  supernatural  occurrences 
recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  is  liable  to  mislead. 
It  is  from  the  Latin  miraculum,  meaning,  sim- 
ply, something  wonderful,  and  perhaps  it  is 
generally  understood  to  mean  merely  a  marvel- 
ous thing.  But  the  words  used  in  the  Bible 
to  denote  the  miracles  have  a  much  larger 
meaning  than  that,  and  the  words,  both  in  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek,  which  mean  merely  "a 
wonder,"  are  not  those  used  to  denote  miracles. 
"  No  doubt  all  God's  works  are  wonderful ;  but 


216  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

when  the  word  is  applied  to  his  doings  in  the 
Bible,  it  is  his  works  in  nature  that  are  gene- 
rally so  described.  .  .  .  But  the  word  wonder 
is  not  the  word  in  the  Hebrew  properly  appli- 
cable to  what  we  mean  by  miracles,  and  in  the 
New  Testament  our  Lord's  works  are  never 
called  '  miracles '  (Vao/xara)  at  all.  The  people 
are  often  said  to  have  '  wondered '  at  Christ's 
acts;  but  those  acts  themselves  were  not  in- 
tended simply  to  produce  wonder — they  had  a 
specific  purpose,  indicated  by  the  term  prop- 
erly applicable  to  them,  and  that  term  is  sign. 
This  is  the  sole  Hebrew  term  for  what  we  mean 
by  miracle;  but  there  are  other  words  applied 
to  our  Lord's  doings  in  the  New  Testament" 
(McClintock  and  Strong's  Cyclopaedia,  Art. 
Miracles,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  310). 

These  latter  words,  as  the  same  authority 
goes  on  to  show,  are  terata,  dynameis,  erga,  and 
semeia. 

1.  The  first  "is  a  term  which  approaches 
very  nearly  to  our  word  miracle,  and  defined 
by  Liddell  and  Scott,  in  their  Greek  Lexicon, 
as  a  'sign,  wonder,  marvel,  used  of  any  appear- 
ance or  event  in  which  men  believed  that  they 
could  see  the  finger  of  God.'  But,  with  that 
marvelous  accuracy  which  distinguishes  the 
language  of  the  Greek  Testament,  our  Lord's 
works  arc  never  called  terata  in  the  Gospels." 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  217 

It  is  used,  however,  in  Acts  ii.  19,  and  Heb. 
ii.  4,  in  reference  to  our  Lord's  works,  and 
elsewhere  frequently,  to  denote  the  works  of 
the  apostles. 

2.  Dynameis  is  the  word  from  which  we  de- 
rive our  word  dynamics.  It  is  "the  most  com- 
mon term  for  our  Lord's  miracles"  in  the  first 
three  Gospels,  and  signifies  powers — i.  e.,  facul- 
ties, or  capacities,  for  doing  something.  "The 
teaching,  therefore,  of  this  word,  dynameis. 
powers,  or  faculties,  is  that  our  Lord's  works 
were  perfectly  natural  and  ordinary  to  him. 
They  were  his  capacities,  just  as  sight  and 
speech  are  ours.  Now,  in  a  brute  animal,  ar- 
ticulate speech  would  be  a  miracle,  because  it 
does  not  lie  within  the  range  of  its  capacities ; 
...  it  does  lie  within  the  compass  of  our  fac- 
ulties, and  so  in  us  it  is  no  miracle.  Similarly, 
the  healing  of  the  sick,  the  giving  sight  to  the 
blind,  the  raising  of  the  dead,  etc. — things  en- 
tirely beyond  the  range  of  our  powers,  yet  lay 
entirely  within  the  compass  of  our  Lord's  ca- 
pacities, and  were  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  his  nature." 

3.  Erga,  the  next  word,  used  almost  wholly 
by  John  to  denote  our  Lord's  miracles,  means 
works.  "  This  term  stands  in  a  very  close  re- 
lation to  the  preceding  word,  dynameis,  or  fac- 
ulties.    A  faculty,  when  exerted,  produces  an 

10 


218  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

ergon,  or  work.  Whatever  powers  or  capaci- 
ties we  have,  whenever  we  use  them,  bring 
forth  a  corresponding  result.  .  .  .  Now,  had 
our  Lord  been  merely  a  man,  any  and  every 
work  beyond  the  compass  of  men's  powers 
would  have  been  a  miracle.  .  .  .  But  the  Gos- 
pel of  John  ...  is  everywhere  penetrated 
with  the  conviction  that  a  higher  nature  was 
united  in  him  to  his  human  nature ;  .  .  .  and 
so  here.  Our  Lord's  miracles  to  him  are  sim- 
ply and  absolutely  erga,  works;  but,  as  we 
have  seen  before,  they  are  also  divine  works, 
1  works  of  God.'  Still,  in  Christ,  according  to 
John's  view,  they  were  perfectly  natural.  They 
were  the  necessary  and  direct  result  of  that 
divine  nature  which  in  him  was  indissolubly 
united  with  his  human  nature.  The  last  thing 
which  the  apostle  would  have  thought  about 
them  was  that  they.#were  'miraculous' — i.  e.y 
wonderful.  That  God  should  give  his  only-be- 
gotten Son  to  save  the  world  was  wonderful. 
That  such  a  Being  should  ordinarily  do  works 
entirely  beyond  the  limits  of  man's  powers  did 
not  seem  to  John  wonderful,  and  hence  the 
simple  but  deeply  significant  term  (works)  by 
which  he  characterizes  them." 

4.  Finally,  the  fourth  term,  semeia,  con- 
stantly also  used  by  John,  means  signs.  This 
may  be  regarded  as  the  common  generic  term 


cll#  6>]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  219 

applicable  to  all  the  supernatural  works  nar- 
rated in  the  Scriptures.  "This  is  the  sole 
Hebrew  term  for  what  we  mean  by  miracle. 
..."  The  one  proper  term  for  miracle,  through- 
out the  whole  Bible,  is  semeion,  a  sign"  (Mc- 
Clintock  and  Strong).  Now,  John,  in  so  fre- 
quently using  this  term  along  with  that  of 
erga,  works,  does  not  do  so  without  a  very  sig- 
nificant meaning.  "Such  works  [as  we  have 
considered  above]  were  not  wrought  without  a 
purpose ;  nor  did  such  a  Being  come  without 
having  a  definite  object  to  justify  his  manifes- 
tation. .  .  .  Now,  John  points  this  out  in  call- 
ing our  Lord's  works  semeia,  signs."  This  "tells 
us  in  the  plainest  language  that  these  works 
were  tokens  calling  the  attention  of  men  to 
what  was  then  happening;  and  especially  is 
it  used  in  the  Old  Testament  of  some  mark, 
or  signal,  confirming  a  promise,  or  covenant. 
Such  a  'sign'  God  gave  to  Cain  (Gen.  iv.  15) ; 
...  to  Noah  (Gen.  ix.  13) ;  ...  to  Abraham 
(Gen.  xvii.  11),  .  .  .  and  to  the  Jews  by  the 
Sabbath-day  (Ex.  xxxi.  13 ;  Ezek.  xx.  12),"  in 
pledge  of  his  particular  promises  made  to 
them,  respectively.  So  also  John  (John  ii.  11) 
calls  the  changing  of  water  into  wine  at  Cana 
"this  beginning  of  signs"  (not  "  miracles,"  as  it 
is  wrongly  translated  in  the  English  version)  ; 
and  (John  iv.  54)  the  healing  of  the  centurion's 


220  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

son  as  "the  second  sign,"  "as  being  the  first 
and  second  indications  of  Christ's  wielding 
those  powers  which  belong  to  God  as  the  Cre- 
ator and  Author  of  nature,  and  which,  there- 
fore, pledged  the  God  of  nature,  as  the  sole 
possessor  of  these  powers,  to  the  truth  of  any 
one's  teaching  who  came  armed  with  them." 
Therefore  it  was  that  the  Jews  asked  for  "a 
sign  "  (Matt.  xii.  38 ;  xvi.  1 ;  John  ii.  18 ;  vi. 
30),  and  some  believed  "  when  they  saw  the 
signs  which  he  did  "  (John  ii.  23)  ;  and  Nicode- 
mus,  the  "  Pharisee  "  and  "  ruler,"  confessed, 
"  Rabbi,  we  know  that  thou  art  a  teacher  come 
from  God ;  for  no  man  can  do  these  signs  that 
thou  doest  except  God  be  with  him"  (John  iii. 
2).  u  Thus  John's  word  shows  that  our  Lord's 
works  had  a  definite  purpose.  They  were  not 
wrought  at  random,  but  were  intended  for  a 
special  object.  What  this  was  is  easy  to  tell. 
.  .  .  The  herald  of  a  divine  dispensation  must 
have  proof  to  offer  that  he  does  come  from 
God,  and  such  proof  as  pledges  the  divine  at- 
tributes to  the  truth  of  his  teaching.  This  is 
the  reason  wiry  the  Old  Testament  dispensa- 
tion was  one  of  signs.  On  special  occasions 
justifying  the  divine  interference,  and  in  the 
persons  of  its  great  teachers,  the  prophets,  su- 
pernatural proof  was  given  in  two  ways.  .  .  . 
The  divine  omniscimce  was  pledged  to  the  truth 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  221 

of  their  words  by  the  prediction  of  future 
events,  and  his  omnipotence  by  their  working 
things  beyond  the  ordinary  range  of  nature. 
The  Old  Testament  proofs  of  a  revelation  were 
prophecy  and  miracle.  We  can  think  of  no 
others,  and  nothing  less  would  suffice."  Ac- 
cordingly, Christ,  as  "the  bearer  to  mankind 
of  God's  final  and  complete  message,"  not  only 
delivered  prophecies,  but  wrought  works,  which 
were  signs  of  his  divine  mission  upon  earth. 

This  is  the  true  significance  of  what  we  call 
"miracles."  "They  are  signs,  and  wonderful 
signs,  and  such  wonderful  signs  as  could  not 
have  been  wrought  by  finite  power"  (Smith's 
Bible  Diet.,  Art.  Miracles,  Vol.  III.,  p.  1963). 
They  are  therefore  proofs,  and  unmistakable 
proofs,  of  the  presence  of  the  power  and  author- 
ity of  God  attendant  upon  those  who  accom- 
plished them,  and  thus  they  attest  the  divine 
character  of  the  message  which  they  professed 
to  bring  from  God  to  men. 

Such  is  the  evidential  force  of  miracles,  wher- 
ever they  may  really  exist.  If,  then,  we  can 
show  also,  beyond  a  reasonable  doubt,  that  the 
accounts  of  them  which  we  have  in  the  Gospels 
are  true,  and  that  they  were  really  wrought  by 
Christ,  the  conclusion  is  inevitable  that  Christ 
was  truly  sent  of  God,  and  therefore  that  his 
religion  is  divine. 


222  Positive  Eoidences.  [Part  II. 

This  proof  has-  been  already,  in  great  meas- 
ure, set  forth  in  Part  First,  in  the  considera- 
tion given  there  (particularly  in  Chapter  IV.) 
of  the  authenticity  of  the  evidence.  The  pos- 
sibility of  miracles,  and  the  competency  of 
evidence  to  prove  their  occurrence,  are  also 
there  shown.  Our  space  will  not  allow  us  to 
restate  that  proof  here.  We  must  at  this 
point  be  content  with  referring  the  reader 
back  to  it,  if  he  wishes  for  a  full  view  of  all 
the  argument  in  the  case.  Suffice  it  to  say 
now,  that  for  the  actual  occurrence  of  the  mira- 
cles related  of  Christ,  we  have  the  concurrent 
and  uncontradicted  testimony  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament writers,  given  in  such  a  manner,  and 
under  such  circumstances,  as  that,  on  every 
principle  by  which  any  testimony  in  any  case 
is  held  to  be  valid,  their  testimony  in  this 
case  must  be  received  as  true.  In  addition, 
however,  to  the  evidence  presented  in  Part 
First  in  support  of  this  position,  and  which 
the  reader  is  requested  to  review,  at  least  be- 
fore he  passes  an  unfavorable  judgment,  we 
call  attention  to  the  considerations  following : 

1st.  The  circumstances  under  which  they 
were  wrought  forbade  mistake  or  deception 
(write Leslie's  "Four  Tests,"  quoted  in  Watson's 
"  Institutes/'  Part  I.,  Ch.  12).  (1)  They  were 
such  as  men's  outward  senses  could  judge  of 


Oh.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  223 

them.  The  feeding  of  the  thousands  in  the 
desert  from  the  few  loaves  and  fishes,  on  two 
occasions,  by  Christ ;  his  healing  of  the  para- 
lytic, of  the  man  born  blind,  and  of  various 
lepers;  his  raising  of  the  widow's  son  from 
the  dead,  and  of  Lazarus,  who  had  been  dead 
three  days,  until  his  body  had  become  offen- 
sive ;  greatest  of  all,  his  own  resurrection  and 
ascension — these  and  others  were  things  such 
as  men  could  judge  of  by  their  senses,  and  not 
like  many  falsely  alleged  to  be  miracles — as, 
e.  g.,  that  alleged  by  the  papists  of  the  bread 
and  wine  of  the  communion  being  changed 
into  flesh  and  blood ;  for  such  a  change  is 
wholly  imperceptible  to  any  of  the  senses,  but 
those  (W  Christ  appealed  to  the  senses  for  the 
evidence  of  their  reality — as  it  is  reasonable 
to  expect  a  miracle  to  do.  (2)  They  were  done 
publicly,  in  the  face  of  the  world.  Many  were 
wrought  before  accusers  and  enemies,  and  in 
the  presence  of  vast  numbers  of  men.  In  this 
they  differ  from  all  pretended  miracles,  which 
have  usually  been  performed  in  private,  and 
have  not  been  witnessed  by  any  but  those  di- 
rectly concerned  in  them.  (3)  In  the  case  of 
the  miracle  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the 
observance  of  the  " first  day  of  the  week"  as 
its  memorial,  became  an  institution  of  the 
Christian  Church.     It  is  a  good  proof  of  the 


224  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

reality  of  an  event  if  we  find  an  institution, 
originating  in  historical  times,  and  of  whose 
origin  no  other  account  can  be  given,  still  ex- 
isting professedly  as  a  memorial  of  that  event. 
Such  is  the  Christian  Sabbath  (vide  Smith's 
Bible  Dictionary,  Art.  "The  Lord's  Day"), 
and  as  such  it  remains  a  proof  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  our  Lord.  (4)  Its  observance  was  in- 
stituted directly  after  the  resurrection  (vide 
Smith,  ib.,  and  cf.  Acts  ii.  7 ;  1  Cor.  xvi.  1,  2 ; 
Heb.  x.  25),  when  the  proof  against  it,  if  false, 
was  easily  accessible,  and  when  its  observance 
would  publicly  and  generally  call  attention — 
among  the  Jews  especially,  by  the  remarkable 
change  of  observance  from  the  seventh  to  the 
first  day  of  the  week — to  the  false  miracle  al- 
leged to  have  taken  place  on  that  day.  Yet, 
though  public  notice  was  thus  called  to  it,  and 
though  refutation  would  have  been  (as  we  shall 
see  more  fully  in  the  next  chapter)  most  easy, 
and  though  the  Christians  suffered  the  most 
bitter  and  violent  hostility  and  persecution, 
yet  the  refutation  was  never  given.  "You 
may  challenge  all  the  world  to  show  that 
any  action  is  fabulous  which  has  all  four  of 
these  marks.  The  matters  of  fact  —  e.  g.,  of 
Mohammed,  or  what  is  fabled  of  the  heathen 
deities — do  all  want  some  of  them.  First,  for 
Mohammed — he  pretended  to  no  miracles,  as  he 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  225 

tells  us  himself  in  the  Koran  (c.  6,  etc.),  and 
all  those  which  are  told  of  him  do  all  want  the 
first  two  marks;  for  his  pretended  journey 
to  the  moon,  his  night  journey  to  Jerusalem, 
and  thence  to  heaven,  etc.,  were  not  performed 
before  anybody,  nor  were  they  capable  of  being 
perceived  by  the  senses  of  men.  The  same  is 
true  of  the  fables  told  of  the  heathen  gods — as 
of  Jupiter's  turning  himself  into  a  bull,  etc. 
Nobody  ever  saw  it,  and  besides,  the  folly  and 
unworthiness  of  such  senseless  pretended  mir- 
acles are  enough  to  condemn  them.  Again, 
the  public  observances — as  the  Bacchanalia, 
and  other  feasts,  etc.,  instituted  in  commemo- 
ration of  their  deities — are  not  pretended  to 
have  begun  at  the  time  and  place  when  the 
occurrences  alleged  to  have  given  rise  to  them 
took  place,  but  are  acknowledged  to  have  been 
first  ordained  by  others  in  their  memory  ages 
afterward,  when  imposture  was  not  so  easily 
detected.  And  so  as  to  the  Romish  miracles, 
reported  to  have  been  wrought  by  the  saints, 
etc.,  since  the  days  of  the  apostles — they  all 
want  the  first  marks.  And  besides,  they  usu- 
ally are  only  '  such  as  make  fools  stare  and 
wise  men  suspect ;'  and  as  they  begin,  so  they 
end — in  vain — in  establishing  nothing  worthy." 
— Home.  But  the  miracles  of  the  Bible  were 
not  afraid  of  the  open  clay,  of  scrutiny  by  en- 
10* 


226  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

emies,  and  of  trial  by  the  senses.  They  left 
also  an  enduring  memorial  existing  from  the 
time  of  their  occurrence,  they  had  a  wise  and 
beneficent  end,  they  were  worthy  of  God,  and 
they  established  the  Christian  Church.  In  all 
this  they  are  without  parallel  in  the  records 
of  the  human  race. 

2d.  The  character  of  Christ's  miracles  in  its 
very  nature  bears  witness  to  their  truth.  Not 
only  were  they  worthy  of  God's  working,  but 
we  also  have  such  evidence  thereof  as  the  fol- 
lowing, viz. :  (1)  Their  great  number.  Very 
many  are  individually  mentioned.  Many  oth- 
ers are  mentioned  only  generally  and  incident- 
ally (e.  g.,  as  in  Matt.  viii.  16,  where  it  is  said 
"  they  brought  unto  him  many  that  were  pos- 
sessed writh  devils,  and  he  cast  out  the  spirits 
with  his  word,  and  healed  all  that  were  sick," 
etc.).  (2)  Their  greatness.  They  were  such 
as  could  not  be  feigned,  but  were  such  as  sat- 
isfying the  hunger  of  thousands  from  a  few 
loaves  and  fishes,  calming  the  winds  and  the 
sea,  curing  the  lepers,  and  raising  the  dead. 

(3)  Their  simplicity.  All  were  done  without 
any  ostentatious  show.  And  they  were  done 
at  a  touch,  by  a  word,  with  the  utmost  ease. 

(4)  Their  disinterestedness.  None  were  per- 
formed for  reward ;  none  ever  gained  him  any 
worldly  benefit  whatever.     (5)  Their  effects  in 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  227 


converting  many  incredulous  persons,  and  even 
some  enemies  (as,  e.  #.,  Paul),  to  embrace  his 
doctrine.  (6)  "They  were  actually  admitted 
as  facts  by  the  [early]  opposers  of  Christianity. 
Celsus,  and  Hierocles,  and  Julian  the  Apos 
tate,  and  the  Jewish  rabbis  in  the  Talmud — 
all  of  whom  wrote  and  argued  bitterly  against 
Christianity — have  yet  all  left  their  acknowl- 
edgment of  the  actual  occurrence  of  these 
events,  accounting  for  them  by  magical  arts, 
which  Celsus  affirms  Christ  must  have  learned 
in  Egypt"  (Johnson's  Cyclopaedia,  Art.  Mira- 
cles). (7)  Their  great  variety,  which  yet, 
very  remarkably,  evidently  constituted  one  or- 
ganic whole.  This  forms  a  very  striking  view 
of  the  miracles,  and  therefore  we  have  reserved 
it  for  the  last,  that  we  may  give  it  more  in  full 
by  appending  an  extract  from  Westcott  ("In- 
troduction to  Gospels,"  App.  E),  who,  to  show 
their  singular  harmony,  completeness,  and 
unity,  both  in  themselves  and  in  the  revela- 
tion they  disclose,  gives  the  following  (tenta- 
tive) classification: 

I.  Miracles  in  Nature. — 1.  Miracles  of  Crea- 
tive Power,  (a)  Christ  the  Source  of  joy — 
the  character  of  nature  changed:  the  water 
made  wine  (John  ii.  1-12).  (b)  Christ  the 
Source  of  subsistence — substance  increased: 
the  bread  multiplied  (Matt.  xiv.  15-21,  etc.). 


228  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

(c)  Christ  the  Source  of  strengtn — force  con- 
trolled :  the  walking  on  the  water  (Matt.  xiv. 
22-26,  etc.).  2.  Miracles  of  Providence,  (a) 
Of  Blessing,  a.  The  founding  of  the  outward 
Church :  the  first  miraculous  draught  of  fishes 
(Luke  v.  1-11)  ;  b.  The  Defense  of  the  Church 
without:  the  storm  stilled  (Matt.  viii.  23-27, 
etc.)  ;  c.  The  Support  of  the  Church  from  with- 
in :  the  stater  in  the  fish's  mouth  (Matt.  xvii. 
24-27) ;  d.  The  Church  of  the  Future :  the  sec- 
ond miraculous  draught  of  fishes  (John  xxi.  1- 
23).  (b)  Of  Judgment:  the  fig-tree  cursed 
(Matt.  xxi.  19,  etc.). 

II.  Miracles  on  Man.  —  1.  Miracles  of  Per- 
sonal Faith,  (a)  Organic  Defects,  a.  Faith 
special :  the  two  blind  men  in  the  house  (Matt, 
ix.  29-31) ;  b.  Faith  absolute :  Bartimeus  re- 
stored (Matt.  xx.  29-34,  etc.).  (b)  Chronic 
Impurity,  a.  Open  leprosy  (Matt.  viii.  1-4, 
etc.) ;  b.  Secret  :  the  woman  with  the  issue 
(Matt.  ix.  20-22).  2.  Miracles  of  Interces- 
sion, (a)  Organic  Defects  :  the  blind,  and  the 
deaf  and  dumb  (Mark  viii.  22-26;  vii.  31-37). 
(b)  Mortal  Sicknesses,  a.  Fever :  The  noble- 
man's son  healed  (John  iv.  46-54)  ;  b.  Paraly- 
sis :  The  man  borne  of  four  (Matt.  ix.  1-8). 
3.  Miracles  of  Love,  (a)  Organic  Defect:  the 
blind  man  healed  (John  ix.).  (b)  Disease,  a. 
Fever   (Matt.  viii.   14,  15,  etc.);    b.    Dropsy 


Ch.  6.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  229 

(Luke  xiv.  1-6);  c.  The  withered  hand  (Matt, 
xii.  9-13) ;  d.  The  impotent  man  (John  v.  1- 
17) ;  e.  The  spirit  of  infirmity  (Luke  xiii.  10- 
17).  (c)  Death,  a.  In  the  death-chamber :  a 
girl  raised  (Matt.  ix.  18,  etc.) ;  b.  Upon  the 
bier :  a  young  man  raised  (Luke  vii.  11-1*8) ; 
c.  From  the  tomb :  a  tried  friend  raised  (John 
xi.). 

III.  Miracles  Wrought  on  the  Spirit-world. — 
1.  Miracles  of  Intercession,  (a)  Simple  inter- 
cession :  the  dumb  man  possessed  by  a  devil 
(Matt.  ix.  32-34;  xii.  22,  etc.).  (b)  Interces- 
sion based  on  natural  ties:  a.  The  Syrophe- 
nician's  daughter  (Matt.  xv.  21-28,  etc.) ;  b. 
The  lunatic  boy  (Matt.  xvii.  14,  etc.).  2.  Mir- 
acles of  Antagonism,  (a)  In  the  synagogue : 
the  unclean  spirit  cast  out  (Mark  i.  21-28, 
etc.).  (b)  In  the  tombs:  the  legion  cast  out 
(Matt.  viii.  28-34). 

This  is  totally  different  from  all  false  mira- 
cles. In  its  completeness  and  unity  it  dis- 
closes, just  as  we  should  expect,  the  presence 
of  God  supernaturally  working  in  the  Person 
of  Christ  at  all  points,  wherever  it  came  into 
contact  with  human  life  and  human  circum- 
stances, with  unity  and  significance,  with  good- 
ness and  power — breaking  forth,  as  we  should 
expect  it,  on  all  occasions,  and  in  all  direc- 
tions, wherever  an  occasion  demanded  its  ex- 


230  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

ercise,  and  giving  us  assurance  in  itself  of  its 
reality,  and  of  the  divine  mission  of  Him  whom 
it  attended. 

Thus,  then,  we  assert  the  divinity  of  Chris- 
tianity by  the  evidence  of  the  miracles  wrought 
by  Christ.  This,  as  to  those  miracles  in  gen- 
eral. There  is  one  supereminent  miracle,  how- 
ever, which  is  also  the  great  corner-stone  of 
Christian  faith — the  resurrection  of  Christ 
from  the  dead.  Thus  we  will  consider  it  in 
particular,  not  only  as  the  "fundamental  and 
crowning  miracle  of  the  gospel,"  and  carrying 
with  it  the  fact  of  its  own  existence  as  such 
the  reality  also  of  all  the  other  miracles,*  but 
also,  in  its  single  evidence,  indisputably  prov- 
ing that  Christ  was  sent  of  God. 

*"In  the  resurrection,"  says  Westcott,  referring  to  his 
classification,  given  above,  "all  the  forms  of  miraculous 
working  are  included.  The  course  of  nature  was  controlled, 
for  there  was  a  great  earthquake ;  the  laws  of  material  exist- 
ence were  overruled,  for  when  the  doors  were  shut  Jesus 
came  into  the  midst  of  his  disciples,  and  when  their  eyes 
were  '  opened '  he  vanished  out  of  their  sight ;  the  reign  of 
death  was  overthrown,  for  many  of  the  saints  came  out  of 
their  graves,  and  went  into  the  holy  city ;  the  powers  of  the 
spiritual  world  were  called  forth,  for  angels  watched  at  the 
sepulcher,  and  ministered  to  believers.  Thus  harmonious  is 
the  whole  strain  of  Scripture.  'All  things  are  double  over 
against  another,  and  God  hath  made  nothing  imperfect.' " 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  231 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   EVIDENCE    OF    MIRACLES — II.    THE    RESUR- 
RECTION  OF  CHRIST. 

The  resurrection  of  Christ  is  one  of  the  strong- 
est proofs  that  we  could  ask  of  the  divinity  of 
Christianity.  As  such  it  was  constantly  cited 
by  the  apostles  in  proof  of  their  doctrine,  on 
the  first  preaching  of  the  gospel.  Peter,  at  Je- 
rusalem, upon  the  day  of  Pentecost,  less  than 
two  months  after  the  resurrection,  occupied  a 
large  part  of  his  discourse  with  showing  that, 
in  fulfillment  of  prophecy,  "this  Jesus  hath 
God  raised  up,  whereof  we  are  all  witnesses" 
(Acts  ii.  32),  and  that  from  this,  and  by  his  sub- 
sequent ascension  and  exaltation,  and  shedding 
forth  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  therefore  let  all  the 
house  of  Israel  know  assuredly,  that  God  hath 
made  that  same  Jesus,  whom  ye  have  cruci- 
fied, both  Lord  and  Christ"  (verse  36) ;  and 
so  strong  and  convincing  was  this  evidence, 
even  to  those  who  had  crucified  Christ,  that 
"when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in 
their  hearts,  and  said  unto  Peter  and  the  rest 
of  the  apostles,  Men  and  brethren,  what  shall 
we  do  ?  "  (verse  37).     This  will  serve  to  show 


232  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

us  the  evidential  value  of  miracles  in  general, 
and  that  of  the  resurrection  of  Christ  in  par- 
ticular ;  and  this  value  was  not  a  mere  tempo- 
rary one,  and  confined  to  the  time  and  place 
in  which  the  resurrection  had  occurred,  nor  to 
the  people  who  were  familiar  with  the  circum- 
stances of  its  occurrence,  but  we  find  that  Paul 
also,  some  twenty  years  afterward,  at  Athens, 
among  a  people  as  yet  entirely  unacquainted 
with  any  fact  of  Christianity,  "preached  unto 
them  Jesus  and  the  resurrection."  And  he 
preached  it  too  as  the  evidence  of  the  truth 
and  authority  of  Christianity  in  calling  men  to 
repentance,  saying,  "And  the  times  of  this  ig- 
norance God  winked  at ;  but  now  commandeth 
all  men  everywhere  to  repent :  because  he  hath 
appointed  a  day  in  the  which  he  will  judge  the 
world  in  righteousness  by  that  man  whom  he 
hath  ordained ;  whereof  he  hath  given  assurance 
unto  all  men  in  that  he  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead"  (Acts  xvii.  18,  30,  31).  In  another 
place  (1  Cor.  xv.  14)  he  elaborately  sets  it  forth 
as  a  fact  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  as- 
surance of  our  faith,  declaring  even,  "And  if 
Christ  be  not  risen,  then  is  our  preaching  vain, 
and  your  faith  is  also  vain."  Farther  citation 
would  be  superfluous.  In  the  Epistles  of  the 
New  Testament  alone  (vide  Angus's  "Hand- 
book," p.  360)  there  are  more  than  fifty  refer- 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  233 

ences  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  showing 
that  it  was  considered  as  of  special  importance 
in  the  system  of  Christian  doctrine.  Its  spe- 
cial importance  as  an  Evidence  fully  appears 
in  the  above  quotations,  and  accordingly  we 
give  it  here  a  special  prominence  among  the 
miracles  as  affording  peculiar  and  irrefragable 
evidence  of  the  divinity  of  the  religion  of 
Christ. 

1.  First  we  offer,  over  and  above  the  gene- 
ral evidence  already  given  for  the  truth  of  the 
facts  contained  in  the  Gospel  narratives,  the 
following  special  evidence  in  proof  of  the  res- 
urrection of  Christ  in  particular : 

(a)  The  disciples  who  gave  their  testimony 
could  not  have  been  deceivers  in  such  a  case, 
and  have  put  forth  an  invented  tale  of  his 
resurrection.  1st.  JNo  other  explanation  can 
be  given  of  the  disappearance  of  the  body  of 
Jesus.  That  he  died  by  crucifixion  is  undoubt- 
ed. The  testimony  of  all  the  writers,  even 
that  of  the  heathen  historian  (vide  ante,  p.  94), 
is  that  he  was  so  put  to  death.  We  have  there- 
fore the  same  proof  of  this  as  we  have  of  any 
other  fact  recorded  in  Tacitus  and  those  other 
writers.  We  take  their  statements  as  that  of 
reliable  historians  who  took  pains  to  satisfy 
themselves,  by  competent  evidence  existing 
at  the  time  they  wrote,  that  the  facts  they  re- 


234  Positioe  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

corded  were  true  before  they  recorded  them. 
Moreover,  the  Jews,  who  still  remain  the  strong 
opposers  of  Christianity,  and  who  at  the  time 
of  his  alleged  resurrection  had  every  means 
as  well  as  every  motive  to  expose  such  a  de- 
ception, never  doubted  that  he  had  died  as 
a  malefactor;  and,  as  we  shall  subsequently 
see,  in  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  his  death 
must  necessarily  have  really  occurred.  What 
then  became  of  his  body  ?  That  it  had  disap- 
peared from  the  tomb  on  the  third  day,  not- 
withstanding the  Jews  had  placed  around  it  a 
guard  of  Roman  soldiers  to  watch  for  three 
days,  within  which  time  they  knew  Christ 
had  prophesied  he  should  rise  again,  is  also 
undoubted;  for,  if  it  were  still  in  the  tomb 
when  the  three  days'  watch  had  ended,  then 
the  Jews  could  have  easily  confounded  the 
Christians  by  thus  disproving  by  the  soldiers 
this  alleged  fact,  when  they  preached  it  in 
Jerusalem  itself  but  a  little  more  than  a  month 
afterward,  and  preached  it  too  as  being  one  of 
the  very  corner-stones  of  the  Christian  doc- 
trine. Manifestly,  a  Christian  Church,  under 
such  circumstances,  could  never  have  been 
formed  in  Jerusalem;  nor  could  thus  a  con- 
vert have  ever  been  made  of  an  ardent  Jewish 
enemy  there,  as  acute  and  able  as  Saul  of  Tar- 
sus.   Yet  it  cannot  be  questioned  that  a  Chris- 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Eoidenee.  235 

tian  Church  was  formed  in  Jerusalem,  and 
continued  to  exist  there,  despite  the  utmost 
persecutions ;  and  it  is  certain,  also,  that  Saul 
was  at  length  convinced — by  the  evidence  of 
this  very  resurrection  —  of  the  truth  of  the 
Christian  religion,  and  became  a  convert.  The 
two  facts  then  so  minutely  and  harmoniously 
related  in  the  Gospels,  of  the  death  of  Jesus, 
and  of  the  disappearance  afterward  of  his  body, 
are  true.  What  then  became  of  the  body? 
The  Christians  say  that  Jesus  rose  from  the 
dead,  and  afterward  ascended  into  heaven — the 
Jews,  that  his  disciples  had  come  by  night,  and 
stole  his  body  away.  These  are  the  only  two 
explanations  offered,  and  are  doubtless  the 
only  two  possible  to  be  offered.  Since  the 
dead  body  of  Jesus  had  disappeared  from  the 
sealed  tomb  in  which  it  had  been  placed,  de- 
spite the  soldiers  guarding  it,  it  must  either 
have  been  stolen  away,  or  he  must  have  risen 
from  the  dead.  The  evidence  shows  that  we 
cannot  accept  the  former,  explanation,  and  that 
the  latter  therefore  is  the  true  and  only  con- 
clusion. 

1.  It  is  highly  improbable,  in  the  nature  of 
the  case,  that  the  former  explanation  is  true. 
(1)  It  is  improbable,  because  the  terror  under 
which  the  disciples  evidently  were  at  the  time, 
as  well  as  the  fewness  of  their  numbers ;  the 


236  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

fact  that  they  were  taken  by  surprise  by  the 
crucifixion  of  Jesus  taking  place  so  soon  after 
his  triumphant  entry  into  Jerusalem ;  the  fact 
that  the  mass  of  the  people  were  against  them, 
and  all  the  authorities  —  all  this  would  have 
deterred  them  from  even  planning  such  an 
attempt  against  a  band  of  the  dreaded  Roman 
soldiers,  and,  in  all  likelihood,  would  have  pre- 
vented them  from  succeeding,  if  they  had  made 
the  attempt.  (2)  The  time  and  place,  and  the 
other  circumstances,  were  very  unfavorable 
for  the  success  of  such  an  attempt.  The  time 
was  that  of  the  Passover,  in  which  there  is 
always  a  full  moon ;  the  city  and  its  suburbs 
were  unusually  crowded  with  people  come  up 
to  attend  the  Passover ;  the  sepulcher  was  just 
outside  the  city  walls,  and  there  was  a  guard 
of  Roman  soldiers,  for  whom  it  was  death  to 
sleep  upon  their  post,  set  around  the  sepulcher 
itself.  It  was  highly  improbable,  if  even  they 
could  succeed  in  penetrating  to  the  cave,  that 
they  could  ever  have  borne  off  the  body  with- 
out being  seen.  (3)  But  if  they  had,  they 
could  scarcely  have  succeeded  in  disposing  of 
it  in  concealment  where  it  would  not  have  been 
discovered,  either  by  chance,  or  by  the  officers 
searching  for  it.  The  difficulty  of  doing  so  in 
criminal  cases,  even  when  the  crime  has  been 
for  some  time  unknown,  and  where  the  crimi- 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  237 

nal  has  had  the  facilities  of  a  lonely  neighbor- 
hood, and  the  aid  of  modern  scientific  knowl- 
edge to  help  him,  is  well  known.  Scarce  any 
such  criminal  escapes  ultimate  detection.  A 
human  body  is  very  difficult  to  dispose  of.  But 
we  are  to  suppose  that  these  disciples,  almost 
all  of  them  Galileans,  and  therefore  compara- 
tively strangers  in  Jerusalem,  ignorant  of  all 
scientific  means  of  getting  rid  of  the  body,  and 
in  a  crowded  city  and  neighborhood,  could 
do  what  criminals  with  every  opportunity  find 
it  so  hard  to  do,  and  effectually  conceal  the 
body,  though  they  had  been  previously  suspected  of 
an  intention  to  commit  the  theft,  and  the  theft  had, 
immediately  after  its  commission,  been  discovered. 
(4)  But  if  they  had  succeeded  in  doing  it,  why 
were  they  not  at  once  arrested  for  the  theft? 
They  continued  to  stay  in  the  city  at  least  fifty 
days  afterward,  and  even  boldly  preached  pub- 
licly the  resurrection  of  Jesus,  the  very  doctrine 
against  which  their  enemies  had  taken  such 
extraordinary  precautions.  They  thus  ren- 
dered themselves  peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the 
Jewish  authorities,  by  charging  them,  in  this 
way,  with  basely  killing  their  own  Messiah. 
By  publicly  proving  the  falsity  of  the  alleged 
resurrection,  on  the  evidence  of  the  soldiers, 
and  by  their  arrest,  trial,  and  conviction,  the 
priests  and  scribes  could  have  forever  triumph- 


238  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

antly  destroyed  that  hated  Christian  sect — a 
sect  which  they  did  attempt  with  all  their  pow- 
er to  destroy  by  the  most  dreadful  persecution. 
Yet,  though  the  apostles  were  more  than  once 
arrested,  they  were  never  arrested  for  this 
crime;  though  other  charges  were  brought 
against  them  before  the  legal  tribunals,  this 
one  never  was.  But,  moreover,  if  the  Jews 
neglected  this,  why  did  the  Romans  do  so? 
They  were  a  people  jealous  in  the  extreme  for 
the  dignity  of  Rome.  The  disciples,  if  they 
stole  the  body,  had  broken  the  Roman  seal 
which  had  been  placed  upon  the  stone,  and 
they  thus  had  committed  an  indignity  and  a 
crime  against  the  Roman  Government.  Yet 
they  were  allowed  to  go  free  in  the  city  un- 
disturbed, and  no  proceedings  whatever  were 
had  against  them,  by  either  Jews  or  Romans. 
g  (5)  Again,  it  is  exceedingly  improbable  that  so 
many  men,  inured  to  watching  in  the  open  air, 
should  have  fallen  asleep  at  once;  or  if  they 
did,  that  with  all  the  noise  unavoidably  made 
in  removing  the  "great  stone"  which  had  been 
used  to  stop  up  the  entrance  to  the  tomb,  and 
in  bearing  forth  the  body  of  a  full-grown  man 
— requiring  several  men — through  the  midst 
of  the  soldiers,  not  erne  should  have  been 
aroused  and  discover  the  thieves.  (6)  And 
finally,  it  is  most  improbable  that,  if  they  had 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  239 

all  thus  fallen  asleep,  they  could  have  escaped 
punishment.  No  nation  has  ever  had  stricter 
discipline  than  the  Romans.  It  was  death  for 
a  soldier  to  sleep  upon  his  post.  Yet  we  hear 
nothing  of  any  punishment  awarded  them  for 
their  flagrant  breach  of  discipline.  It  is  not 
likely  that  the  Roman  officers  would  for  any 
reason  have  remitted  their  punishment ;  still 
more  unlikely  is  it  that  the  soldiers  would  have 
accused  themselves  in  returning  such  a  report 
of  their  conduct  in  explanation  of  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  body. 

2.  But  if  their  account  is  true,  it  is  certain 
that  it  cannot  be  known  to  be  true;  for,  be 
it  remembered,  upon  the  testimony  of  these 
deniers  of  the  resurrection  themselves,  there 
were  no  actual  witnesses  of  the  theft,  except 
the  thieves  themselves.  The  Jews  were  not 
there ;  the  soldiers,  as  it  is  claimed,  were  asleep 
— if  any  one  but  the  thieves  had  beheld  it, 
they  would  certainly  have  arrested  them  and 
aroused  the  soldiers.  Then  how  can  it  be 
proved  that  the  body  was  stolen  ?  If  the  sol- 
diers were  asleep  when  the  body  left  the  tomb, 
then  all  that  they  can  truly  testify  to  is,  that 
when  they  awoke  they  found  the  tomb  broken 
open  and  the  body  gone.  But  they  cannot  say 
how ;  and  so,  though  they  had  slept,  the  resur- 
rection, so  far  as  that  is  concerned,  might  have 


240  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

taken  place.     But  if  they  were  awake,  why  did 
they  not  prevent  the  theft  ? 

3.  In  opposition  to  this  improbable,  incon- 
sistent, yea,  evidently  false,  account,  we  have 
the  only  other  reasonable  explanation — given 
directly,  clearly,  and  consistently,  by  all  the 
disciples — that  after  his  death  they  saw  him 
again,  alive;  that  they  talked,  ate,  and  other- 
wise associated  with  him,  at  intervals,  for  forty 
days ;  and  that  he  himself,  who  was  so  per- 
fectly truthful  and  holy,  assured  them  again 
and  again,  and  gave  them  bodily  proofs  of  the 
truth  of  his  assertion,  that  he  had  really  risen 
from  the  dead,  even  as  it  had  been  foretold, 
and  as  it  "behooved  him"  to  do.  (1)  In  the 
Jews'  explanation  of  the  disappearance  of  his 
body,  we  have  just  seen  an  instance  of  the  ex- 
treme difficulty  of  forging  without  detection  a 
tale  consistent  with  the  circumstances  and 
with  itself,  even  by  those  possessed  of  the 
greatest  advantages  of  power,  learning,  etc. 
Greenleaf  has  also  pointed  out  (vide  ante,  p. 
106)  the  almost  impossibility  of  doing  it.  But 
could  the  humble  disciples,  powerless  and  un- 
learned as  they  were,  have  been  able  to  forge 
a  tale  about  so  remarkable  a  matter  as  not  to 
be  inconsistent,  and  therefore  open  to  expos- 
ure by  enemies,  who,  being  in  power,  had  ev- 
ery means  of  detection  at  their  command,  as 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  241 

they  had  every  motive  to  prompt  them  to  use 
those  means  ?  Yet  neither  they  nor  the  most 
acute  minds,  during  the  centuries  since,  have 
ever  been  able  to  show  the  forgery  in  the  least 
degree.  (2)  The  disciples,  we  are  told,  were 
themselves  very  incredulous,  and  "  slow  to  be- 
lieve "the  fact.  (3)  They  had  no  motive  to 
utter  such  a  falsehood.  There  was  no  fame, 
or  riches,  or  power,  to  be  gained  in  this  world 
by  it,  and  surely  they  could  expect  in  the  next 
nothing  but  punishment  for  such  a  stupendous 
and  blasphemous  falsehood.  Only  dangers, 
persecutions,  torture,  exile,  and  death,  awaited 
them  here  from  preaching  the  resurrection, 
and,  if  false,  eternal  ruin  after  death.  Is  it 
conceivable  that  any  man  would  be  so  carried 
away  by  madness  as  to  dare  all  this  in  support 
of  a  known,  monstrous,  and  incredible  lie  ?  It 
is  inconceivable  that  so  many  men,  through  so 
many  years,  with  such  perfect  unanimity,  and 
under  such  sufferings,  should  persist  in  doing 
so.  (4)  But  had  they  all,  nevertheless,  so 
agreed,  it  is  still  improbable  that  they  would 
have  ventured  to  publish  this  forged  account, 
as  the  apostles  did  in  Jerusalem,  in  the  very 
place,  and  immediately  after  the  time,  in  which 
the  thing  thus  falsely  alleged  was  said  by 
them  to  have  taken  place.  They  might  have 
gone  to  a  distant  country  and  waited  many 
11 


242  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

years,  but  forgers  such  as  these  would  scarcely 
have  dared  to  utter  their  forgery  in  the  very 
place  where  their  enemies  were  most  numer- 
ous and  powerful,  and  where  every  facility  for 
exposing  and  punishing  them  existed.  (5)  If 
they  had  madly  ventured  to  take  this  last  im- 
probable step,  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that 
they  could  ever  have  so  successfully  escaped 
detection  and  exposure.  Let  it  be  remembered 
that  no  such  exposure  was  ever  made;  yet 
they  repeated  their  statements  over  and  over 
again,  sometimes  separately,  sometimes  togeth- 
er. They  were  at  various  times  arrested  and 
examined  before  the  very  highest  legal  tribu- 
nals, both  Jewish  and  Roman,  by  men  trained 
to  the  business  of  detecting  and  punishing 
crime,  and  whose  imperative  official  duty  it 
was  to  do  so;  and  those  authorities  had  the 
greatest  motives  for  punishing  them,  and 
no  motive  for  shielding  them.  Nevertheless, 
there  was  never  found  any  discrepancy  in  their 
testimony,  and  there  was  never  any  conviction 
secured  for  this  crime,  nor  any  punishment 
awarded  for  it.  (6)  Lastly,  the  general  char- 
acter of  the  apostles  forbids  us  from  suspect- 
ing them  of  such  a  forgery.  Their  character 
has  never  been  impugned.  Their  whole  histo- 
ry, as  well  as  the  whole  tenor  of  their  spirit, 
manifested  in  their  writings  that  remain  to  us, 


Ch.  7.1  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  2-13 

show  them  to  be  men  of  the  most  undoubted 
purity,  benevolence,  and  truth.  They  were 
incapable  of  designedly  framing  so  false  and 
misleading  a  story,  even  had  they  been  able ; 
and  their  united,  positive,  and  life-long  testi- 
mony to  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  with  no 
evidence  against  it,  is  entitled  to  be  received  as 
a  true  relation  of  the  facts  they  attest. 

Since,  then,  it  is,  in  the  first  place,  so  highly 
improbable,  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  that  the 
disciples  could  have  stolen  the  body  of  Jesus ; 
since,  also,  if  they  had,  it  could  not  have  been 
known,  but,  at  the  utmost,  only  suspected ;  and 
since,  too,  we  have  the  positive,  continued,  con- 
curring, and  uncontradicted  testimony  of  so 
many  witnesses  of  the  highest  character  to 
the  reality  of  the  Lord's  resurrection,  we  must, 
in  all  fairness,  believe  that  Christ  was  seen  by 
the  apostles  after  his  crucifixion,  and  that  they 
were  entirely  innocent  of  all  forgery  in  their 
testimony  to  this  fact,  and  of  all  intention  to 
deceive. 

(b)  But  neither  were  they  self- deceived. 
Modern  objectors,  seeing  the  hopelessness  of 
proving  them  deceivers,  have  fallen  upon  the 
theory  of  self-deception,  in  the  case  of  the  apos- 
tles, in  order  to  explain  the  facts.  In  answer, 
we  present  the  following  arguments  condensed 
from  Row  ("Christian  Evidences,"  etc.): 


244  Positive  E  cadences.  [Part  II. 

From  the  Pauline  and  the  other  Epistles  of 
the  New  Testament  it  is  proved — 

1.  That  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact  that  the 
Church  which  had  been  for  the  time  dissolved 
at  the  crucifixion  was  reconstructed  on  the  ba- 
sis of  the  resurrection. 

2.  That  the  belief  in  it  originated  on  the 
spot,  and  within  a  few  days  of  the  crucifixion, 
and  that  the  fact  was  openly  proclaimed  then 
and  there  as  the  new  foundation  on  which  the 
Church  was  to  be  erected  and  the  Messiahship 
of  Jesus  to  be  set  up. 

3.  That  all  the  efforts  of  Paul  and  his  fel- 
low-persecutors failed  to  discover  that  this  be- 
lief was  the  result  of  fraud  or  delusion. 

4.  That  the  apostolic  body  believed  that 
they  had  two  interviews  with  Jesus,  in  which 
they  saw  him  alive  after  his  crucifixion. 

5.  That  two  of  the  apostles  were  persuaded 
that  they  had  two  private  interviews  with  him. 

6.  That  upward  of  five  hundred  brethren 
believed  that  they  saw  him  alive  after  his  cru- 
cifixion, when  they  were  assembled  in  a  body. 

7.  That  Paul  was  persuaded  that  he  had 
seen  him. 

8.  That  large  numbers  of  believers  were 
firmly  persuaded  that,  in  consequence  of  his 
resurrection,  they  had  become  possessed  of 
certain  supernatural  gifts  and  endowments. 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  245 

9.  That  the  belief  in  the  resurrection  acted 
as  a- mighty  power  of  moral  and  spiritual  re- 
generation. 

These  facts  effectually  disprove  —  1.  Every 
form  of  the  theory  of  their  mythic  or  legendary 
origin ;  2.  That  it  is  impossible  that  the  belief 
in  the  resurrection  could  have  grown  up  in  the 
gradual  manner  in  which  ordinary  fictions  do, 
at  distant  times  and  places ;  3.  That  until 
some  other  equally  rational  account,  affording 
an  adequate  explanation  of  all  the  subsequent 
historical  facts  of  the  Christian  Church,  can 
be  propounded,  we  are  fully  entitled  to  accept 
this,  the  account  which  the  Church  has  ever 
put  forward  as  the  true  one,  and  the  sole 
ground  of  its  existence. 

(a)  To  give  such  an  explanation,  the  theory 
of  "visions"  has  been  advanced  —  viz.,  that 
Christ  never  rose  from  the  dead,  but  that  some 
one  or  more  of  his  enthusiastic  followers  fan- 
cied they  saw  him  alive,  and  mistook  the  cre- 
ation of  their  distempered  imaginations  for  an 
actual  resurrection,  and  succeeded  in  persuad- 
ing the  other  disciples  that  he  was  risen  from 
the  dead.  These,  in  turn,  also  took  to  seeing 
visions  of  the  risen  Jesus,  and  fancying  not 
only  that  they  had  interviews  with  him,  but 
that  they  received  his  orders  to  reconstruct 
his  Church  on  the  basis  of  his  resurrection, 


246  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

etc.  The  attempt  was  made,  succeeded,  and 
the  Church — the  greatest  of  institutions — was 
erected  on  this  foundation  of  baseless  delusions 
by  a  few  credulous  fanatics.  But  this  is  im- 
possible; for — 

1st.  The  disciples  could  not  have  even  ex- 
pected it.  1.  The  disciples,  immediately  after 
the  crucifixion,  were  in  a  state  of  deepest  de- 
pression. 2.  The  idea  of  resurrection  was  one 
utterly  foreign  to  all  ancient  thought,  so  that 
however  men  might  have  supposed  they  had 
seen  spirits,  the  very  thought  of  a  body  being 
raised  from  the  dead  would  never  have  oc- 
curred to  them.  3.  The  disciples  did  not  so 
understand  Jesus  when  he  predicted  it,  as  ap- 
pears from  the  same  account  which  tells  of  the 
prediction.  Therefore  they  were  not  expect; 
ing  it,  but  were  filled  with  the  prepossession 
and  fixed  idea  of  his  death  and  the  utter  ruin 
of  his  cause;  yet,  expectancy,  prepossession, 
and  fixed  idea,  are  well  established  by  mental 
physiologists  as  the  necessary 'mental  states  to 
enable  even  enthusiastic  and  credulous  persons 
to  mistake  subjective  impressions  for  external 
realities  (vide  Carpenter's  "Mental  Physiolo- 
gy ") .  But  since  we  know  that  a  great  change, 
nevertheless,  occurred  in  the  minds  of  the  dis- 
ciples in  a  few  days,  contrary  to  their  expecta- 
tion ;  since,  also,  the  Church  was  reconstructed 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Ecidence.  247 

on  new  conceptions  of  the  Messiah — i.  e..  of  a 
spiritual  and  invisible  Messiah,  instead  of  one 
visible  and  temporal — we  infer  that  Jesus  was 
actually  raised  from  the  dead. 

2d.  But  suppose  that  Mary — a  woman — did 
first  fancy  she  saw  him  alive,  and  that  she  con- 
versed with  him,  and  that  he  promised  to  meet 
her  again,  and  that  she  fancied  that  he  did 
again  meet  her,  so  that  her  delusion  did  not 
vanish ;  suppose  she  had  such  a  series  of  ideal 
visions  and  conversations — yet  how  could  she 
have  communicated  her  delusions  to  the  other 
disciples,  so  that  they  too  would  begin  to  imag- 
ine that  they  saw  the  Lord,  talked,  walked,  and 
ate,  with  him,  and  touched  him,  at  various 
times  and  in  different  places — i.  e.,  not  a  spirit, 
but  the  veritable  flesh  and  bones  of  his  body 
— and  that  he  made  engagements  for  other  in- 
terviews with  them,  and  kept  them  ?  And  this 
too  in  a  few  days  after  his  crucifixion,  and  when 
his  body  really  lay  near  by,  corrupting  in  the 
grave  ?  and  that  therefore  they  forthwith  pro- 
ceeded to  reconstruct  the  Church  on  this  foun- 
dation, and  did  greatly  succeed  in  building  up 
the  most  wonderful  and  enduring  institution 
among  men  on  this  airy  delusion  of  their  fan- 
cies ?  and  that  they  all  concurred  in  this  same 
identical  delusion?  Even  among  lunatics  a 
concurrence  in  their  hallucinations  is  unknown. 


248  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

It  is  asserted,  however,  that  Mohammed  suc- 
ceeded in  erecting  his  Church  on  such  a  basis 
of  supposed  appearances.  Now,  there  is  much 
to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  Mohammed  was, 
in  part  at  least,  a  conscious  impostor ;  but  the 
most  that  can  be  said  is  that  he  undertook  his 
thirteen  years'  mission  at  Mecca  under  the 
persuasion  that  he  had  received  a  divine  com- 
mission through  the  angel.  Here  note:  1. 
That  there  was  no  resurrection — an  idea  not 
natural  to  the  human  mind — but  an  angelic 
appearance,  the  idea  of  which  is  familiar  and 
common  to  enthusiasts ;  2.  There  is  no  testi- 
mony of  the  matter  but  that  of  himself;  3.  It 
was  not  capable  of  refutation,  as  that  of  the 
resurrection  of  a  body  recently  dead  would 
have  been  by  the  production  of  the  body ;  4. 
Mohammed,  in  point  of  fact,  never  did  found 
his  Church  on  such  a  peaceful  basis.  It  was 
only,  after  thirteen  years,  when  he  grasped  the 
sword  that  he  had  any  success ;  and  if  he  had 
continued  his  endeavor  to  found  his  Church  by 
peaceful  means  only,  the  Church  of  Moham- 
med would  never  have  existed. 

3d.  But  suppose  all  these  impossible  things, 
there  yet  remains  to  account  for  St.  Paul's  ex- 
traordinary delusion,  that  he  too  had  seen  the 
risen  Lord,  talked  with  him,  received  direc- 
tions as  to  his  future  conduct  from  him,  etc. 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  249 

(vide  Acts  ix.  1-6,  11 ;  1  Cor.  xv.,  etc.),  so  that 
from  a  most  violent  persecutor  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  he  suddenly  became  its  most  labori- 
ous missionary,  and  devoted  his  whole  after- 
life in  self-sacrifice  to  the  service  of  his  Mas- 
ter. The  27th  chapter  of  Acts,  as  well  as  the 
preceding  chapters,  prove,  beyond  the  shadow 
of  a  doubt,  that  the  author  of  the  Acts  was  a 
companion  of  Paul.  Without  doubt,  he  must 
have  received  the  account  of  Paul's  conversion 
from  Paul  himself,  and  therefore,  in  the  cir- 
cumstances thus  recorded,  we  have  Paul's  own 
account  of  the  occurrences  which  led  to  his 
conversion,  as  he  himself  believed  them.  Now, 
how  came  he  to  believe  in  such  a  delusion — he 
in  whom  there  could  be  absolutely  no  expect- 
ancy, and  in  whom  the  prepossession  and  the 
fixed  idea,  that  Jesus  was  a  wicked  and  dan- 
gerous Impostor,  had  previously  wrought  so 
strongly  as  to  impel  him  to  the  most  violent 
persecution — a  persecution  which  he  was  then 
on  his  way  to  accomplish?  How,  we  say, 
could  he,  against  all  his  mental  prepossessions 
and  ideas,  have  so  suddenly,  completely,  and 
permanently,  fallen  under  such  a  "delusion  ? 
Nay,  so  much  so  as  to  believe  himself  blind 
for  three  days,  and  at  the  end  of  that  time  to 
feel  "as  it  were  scales  fall  from  his  eyes,"  and 
immediately  and  ever  after,  at  the  peril  of  his 
11* 


250  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

life,  unceasingly  to  labor  to  build  up  that  cause 
which  he  had  formerly  tried  to  destroy — he,  a 
man  of  the  soundest  reason,  the  acutest  men- 
tal discrimination,  and  the  highest  education 
and  cultivation? 

(b)  The  only  alternative  left  to  unbelief  is 
the  theory  that  Jesus  did  not  die,  but  fell  into 
a  state  of  syncope,  which  was  mistaken  for 
death,  and  in  that  state  he  was  taken  down 
from  the  cross,  and  put  into  the  sepulcher,  from 
which  he  gradually  recovered,  and  thus  ap- 
peared again  to  his  disciples.  But — 1.  Such 
an  account  never  was  heard  of  at  the  time  by 
the  enemies  of  our  Lord,  nor  since,  till  modern 
times ;  2.  His  body  was  in  the  custody  of  the 
Romans  and  Jews ;  3.  He  had  undoubtedly 
been  greatly  exhausted  by  his  agony  in  the 
garden,  his  loss  of  rest  throughout  the  pre- 
vious night,  the  excitement  of  his  various 
trials,  the  weariness  of  prolonged  exertion, 
lasting  from  the  evening  before  up  to  the  hour 
of  his  crucifixion,  and  by  his  scourging;  4. 
After  all  this,  he  hung  several  hours  on  the 
cross,  and  at  length  was  pierced  in  the  side 
by  a  spgar;  5.  Afterward,  he  was  laid  for 
about  thirty -six  hours  in  a  cold  sepulcher, 
bound  up  with  spices,  in  bandages  and  wrap- 
pings. It  is  incredible  that  a  man  could  have 
lived  through  all  this;  yet,  in  addition,  he 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  251 

must  also  have  succeeded  in  freeing  himself 
from  his  bandages,  in  rolling  away  the  stone 
from  the  mouth  of  the  sepulcher,  and  in  reach- 
ing the  house  of  some  friend  in  safety,  where  he 
slowly  recovered  in  secret.  But,  farther,  this 
supposes — 6.  That  the  disciples  who  saw  him 
mistook  a  slow  recovery  from  extreme  exhaus- 
tion and  painful  wounds  for  a  triumphant  res- 
urrection ;  7.  That  during  his  recovery,  which 
must  have  taken  a  long  time,  and  which  must 
have  been. kept  a  profound  secret,  the  rest  of 
the  disciples  still  kept  together,  and  did  not 
give  way  to  discouragement  and  despair,  but, 
when  at  last  he  was  well,  were  ready,  after  so 
long  a  time,  to  accept  the  belief  that  he  had 
risen  from  the  dead ;  8.  And  that  they  had 
seen  him  alive  a  few  days  after  his  resurrec- 
tion ;  9.  And  that  Paul  too,  the  persecutor, 
who,  in  inflicting  his  persecutions,  must  have 
heard  and  disbelieved  the  story,  yet  afterward 
imagined  he  had  seen  him  in  a  flash  of  light- 
ning, which  felled  him  to  the  earth,  and  made 
him  blind  for  three  days;  9.  That  the  apos- 
tles believed  they  had  at  length  seen  him  leave 
the  world,  and  go  up  to  heaven ;  10.  That  they 
forthwith  proceeded  to  reconstruct  the  Church 
on  this  new  conception  of  an  invisible  and  spir- 
itual Messiah;  11.  And  that  they  did,  on  this 
delusion,   actually  rear  up  the  greatest  and 


252  Positive  Evidences.  [part  II. 

best  institution  that  has  ever  existed  among 
men. 

We  conclude  that  the  disciples  were  neither 
deceivers  nor  self-deceived,  but  that  the  resur- 
rection of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  a  most 
certain  fact.  As  such,  it  manifests  the  super- 
human and  divine  character  of  Christianity, 
being  itself  one  of  the  essential  facts  upon 
which  Christianity  is  built,  and  from  which  it 
derives  its  strength.*    Moreover,  it  establishes 

*  To  appreciate  this  more  fully,  and  also  to  see  the  har- 
monious unity  of  the  several  facts  which  form  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Christian  religion,  and  especially  to  note,  how 
the  fact  of  the  resurrection,  followed  by  the  ascension  of 
our  Lord,  gives  completion,  while  it  imparts  fresh  life  and 
meaning,  to  all  the  other  great  facts,  let  us  remember — 1. 
That  not  only  did  it,  as  a  miracle  alone,  give  proof  of  the 
divine  mission  of  Christ,  but  also  as  a  miracle  in  fulfillment 
of  prophecy.  In  Ps.  xvi.  10  it  had  been  predicted  as  a  sign 
of  the  Messiah — "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell  \i.  e., 
in  the  grave] ;  neither  wilt  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to 
see  corruption" — and  accordingly,  Peter,  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost,  to  the  murderers  of  Christ,  used  this  with  most 
convincing  effect,  as  a  proof  of  the  Messiahship  of  Christ. 
(Vide  Acts  ii.  25-31.)  2.  It  proved  his  divinity — "De- 
clared to  be  the  Son  of  God  with  power,  ...  by  the  res- 
urrection from  the  dead"  (Eom.  i.  4).  3.  It  completed  the 
work  of  redemption;  for — 1st.  It  showed  that  his  death 
was  by  way  of  atonement,  and  not  of  necessity,  and  proved 
what  Christ  had  said  of  himself  as  the  good  Shepherd,  "  I 
lay  down  my  life  .  .  .  that  I  might  take  it  again.  .  .  .  Nc 
man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself.     I 


Ch.  7.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  253 

the  general  fact  of  miracles  by  Christ,  and, 
taken  with  the  testimony  of  the  disciples  to 
the  other  miracles,  proves  them  also  to  have 
been  really  wrought. 

As  such,  the  miracles  display  the  wisdom, 
the  power,  and  the  goodness  of  Christ,  and  so 
constitute  an  harmonious  part  of  that  revela- 
tion which  he  came  to  give,  while  also  they  add 
their  own  witness  to  all  the  other  testimonies, 
to  form  together  an  inexpugnable  evidence  of 
the  divinity  of  his  religion. 

have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and  I  have  power  to  take  it 
again"  (John  x.  15-18).  In  this,  as  also  in  that  by  his 
resurrection,  God's  acceptance  was  shown  of  his  sacrifice 
on  the  cross  as  fully  sufficient  an  atonement  for  man,  we 
understand  how  "he  was  delivered  for  our  offenses,  and 
raised  again  for  our  justification"  (Kom.  iv.  25).  2d.  It 
showed  him  to  be  the  Conqueror  and  Destroyer  of  "  him 
that  had  the  power  of  death — that  is,  the  devil."  3d.  It 
was  needful  for  his  ascension,  and  the  fulfillment  of  his 
great  offices  of  Intercessor  and  High-priest,  of  sending 
forth  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  "preparing  a  place"  for  his 
people.  4.  It  was  the  proof,  the  pattern,  and  the  pledge, 
of  our  own  resurrection  from  the  grave.  Thus  we  see  the 
importance  of  this  great  fact  to  the  Christian  system,  the 
perfect  correspondence  of  this  fact  to  all  the  rest,  and  the 
perfect  completeness  in  the  supply  it  thus  furnishes  of  the 
whole.  This  harmony  and  perfection  is  found  in  no  other 
system,  for  no  other  is  the  complete  revelation  of  God. 


254  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE    SUPERNATURAL   RESULTS. 

Finally,  we  point  to  the  Results  of  Christian- 
ity— the  superhuman  moral  force  and  power 
it  has  wielded  for  good  in  the  world — in  evi- 
dence of  its  divinity.  This  is  the  last  crite- 
rion that  can  be  applied,  and  to  this  final  test 
of  experiment — the  crucial  touch-stone  of  mod- 
ern science — Christianity,  having  passed  the 
ordeal  of  all  other  trials  of  its  truth,  fears  not 
to  be  tried  by  this  last  means  of  determina- 
tion, but  gladly  challenges  its  examination 
also. 

This  too  is  a  practical  test  capable  of  being 
applied  in  every  generation  and  by  every  man. 
It  is  one,  also,  that  is  as  really  convincing 
to-day,  to  the  candid  and  reflecting  mind,  as 
miracles  were  in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and 
as  sure  a  token  of  the  presence  of  divine  en- 
ergy attending  the  gospel  of  Christ.  "And 
now"  (i.  e.y  in  these  days),  says  Augustin,  in 
his  sermon  on  "  The  Recovery  of  Sight  to 
the  Blind,"  referring  to  Christ,  "he  worketh 
greater  cures,  on  account  of  wldcli  he  disdained 
not  then  to  exhibit  those  lesser  ones- 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  255 

ing  the  blind,  etc.  For  as  the  soul  is  better 
than  the  body,  so  is  the  saving  health  of  the 
soul  better  than  the  health  of  the  body.  The 
blind  body  doth  not  now  open  its  eyes  by  a 
miracle  of  the  Lord,  but  the  blinded  heart 
openeth  its  eyes  to  the  word  of  the  Lord. 
The  mortal  corpse  doth  not  now  rise  again, 
but  the  soul  which  lay  dead  in  a  living  body." 
Indeed,  as  Van  Oosterzee  points  out,  "This 
testimony  can  be  shown  in  its  full  force  only 
when  the  kingdom  of  God  shall  have  been 
completed.  .  .  .  Think  of  the  blessed  influ- 
ence of  Christianity  on  family  life,  society,  the 
State,  civilization,  art,  science,  philosophy — 
the  entire  life  of  man  and  mankind — and,  be- 
sides, of  all  which  the  history  of  missions  tells 
us  of  the  renewing  power  of  the  word  of  truth. 
Nor  must  we  forget  how  a  great  part  of  the 
most  precious  of  the  seed  is  hidden  from  the 
short-sighted  eye,  yet  is  every  now  and  then 
revealed  in  a  surprising  manner.  And  then, 
after  all,  ask  where  we  can  find  a  parallel  to 
what,  in  all  these  respects,  the  history  of  God's 
kingdom  proclaims.  Still,  though  a  full  knowl- 
edge of  the  benefits  produced  by  Christianity 
can  thus  never  be  known  till  eternity,  we  nev- 
ertheless know  sufficient  of  its  potent  influ- 
ence for  good,  both  in  the  past  and  present, 
over  savages   and  philosophers,  to  show  its 


256  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

incomparable  superiority  over  all  other  moral 
systems,  and  such  as  prove  it  to  be  divine." 

I.  First  we  appeal  to  the  personal  experi- 
ence of  all  that  have  ever  sincerely  tried  Chris- 
tianity. This,  we  say,  is  the  test  of  experiment, 
boasted  by  science  as  the  infallible  criterion, 
without  the  proof  of  which  no  theory  is  to  be 
received.  But  then,  on  the  other  hand,  no 
theory  ought  to  be  rejected  that  does  possess 
this  proof.  We  therefore  cheerfully  submit 
the  claims  of  our  religion  to  this  method  of 
verification,  only  demanding  that  it  be  faith- 
fully used  by  objectors  for  themselves  if  they 
will,  or  if  they  will  not  even  make  trial  of  it 
themselves,  that  they  will  at  least  give  a  can- 
did reception  of,  and  belief  in,  the  testimony 
of  those  who  have  done  so.  We  ask  attention, 
therefore,  to  the  following  facts : 

1.  All  who  have  embraced  Christianity,  in 
every  age  and  country,  comprising  millions  of 
souls  of  every  race,  condition,  sex,  and  age, 
have  testified  that  Christianity  is  true.  It  is 
doubtful  whether,  of  the  millions  who  have 
once  embraced  it,  however  even  they  may 
have  afterward  relapsed  into  wickedness,  any 
can  be  produced,  either  from  the  history  of  the 
past,  or  the  multitudes  of  the  present,  who 
voluntarily  have  said,  or  will  say,  that  they 
have  honestly  tried  Christianity,  and  found  it 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  257 

to  be  false.  Certain  it  is  that  the  overwhelm- 
ing majority  will  testify  to  the  contrary,  and 
declare  that  they  have  found  it  gloriously  true. 
And  the  exceptions — if  exceptions  there  be — 
may  be  rationally  explained  in  the  same  way 
as  we  account  for  those  no  less  exceptional  ex- 
perimenters in  science  who  separately  differ 
from  the  great  body  of  their  brethren  as  to  the 
results  of  some  experiment — viz.,  because  of 
inaccuracy  of  observation,  the  influence  of 
some  particular  theory  of  theirs,  etc.  Nor 
are  such  rare  exceptions  to  w7eigh  in  our  esti- 
mation any  more  in  one  case  than  the  other. 
The  vast  preponderating  testimony  of  the  oth- 
er side  must  be  accepted  as  the  only  true  tes- 
timony given  by  science  as  to  the  result  of  the 
experiment  in  question,  and  it  must  be  so  ac- 
cepted also  as  the  real  evidence  in  the  matter 
of  religion. 

2.  These  witnesses  (vide  Home's  ''Intro- 
duction ")  have  testified  plainly  and  strongly; 
they  have  continued  their  testimony  through 
life ;  they  have  done  so  frequently,  when  there- 
by they  drew  upon  themselves  disgrace,  im- 
prisonment, and  cruel  death;  and  they  have 
done  so  often,  when,  by  renouncing  their  prin- 
ciples, they  might  have  enjoyed  much  of  this 
world's  fame  and  fortune.  They  have  there- 
fore given  the  strongest  proofs  possible  of  their 


258  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

real  convictions,  and  of  their  belief  in  the  re- 
ligion of  Jesus  Christ. 

3.  They  say  that  Christianity  does  for  them 
what  it  promises  to  do ;  that  Grod  does  answer 
prayer;  that  the  Holy  Spirit  is  given  them 
through  Christ;  that  their  moral  natures  are 
regenerated ;  their  souls  have  a  joy,  and  com- 
fort, and  strength,  such  as  the  world  knows 
not  of;  they  have  love  for  God  and  man,  they 
have  purity  and  truth,  when  before  there  was 
malice  and  hate,  uncleanness  and  falseness; 
that  it  does  support  in  the  hour  of  trial  and 
of  death,  and  that  it  is  by  far  the  most  precious 
possession  that  they  have  or  can  have,  and 
that  they  would  much  rather  part  with  life  it- 
self than  with  it. 

4.  For  the  reality  of  this  change  from  their 
former  state,  wrought  in  them,  they  affirm 
that  they  have  the  testimony  of  their  own  con- 
sciousness, which  no  one  can  deny,  and  that 
that  consciousness  is  as  clear  as  that  of  their 
own  being,  so  that  they  can  no  more  doubt 
it  than  they  can  their  own  being.  They 
point  also,  confidently,  to  their  changed  out- 
ward lives,  in  which  those  that  before  were 
proud  are  now  humble ;  those  that  were  wrath- 
ful are  now  mild ;  those  that  wTere  ambitious, 
avaricious,  and  sensual,  selfish  and  full  of  hate, 
are  now  unworldly,  generous,  spiritual,  self- 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  259 

sacrificing,  and  loving.  And  for  the  truth  of 
this  they  challenge  the  testimony  of  those 
around  them,  of  enemies  as  well  as  friends. 

5.  Farther,  this  change  is  not  only  a  change 
of  character  from  what  they  themselves  were 
before — it  is  a  change  also  from  the  general 
character  of  the  mass  of  all  other  men  besides, 
especially  from  the  general  character  of  the 
human  race  ivherever  Christianity  has  exerted 
no  influence.  So  that  all  the  self-sacrificing 
efforts  made  in  the  world  for  the  elevation  and 
improvement  of  the  human  family — as  by  re- 
formers, missionaries,  preachers,  etc. — all  the 
reformatory  and  charitable  institutions  of  the 
world — are  almost,  if  not  altogether,  without 
an  exception,  the  work  of  Christian  charity, 
and  not  that  of  pagans,  Mohammedans,  or  in- 
fidels. 

6.  These  witnesses  are  of  the  most  diverse 
countries  and  races,  and  of  every  age  of  the 
world  since  Christ.  Among  them  are  many 
who  were  at  first  averse,  and  even  hostile,  to 
Christianity,  and  who  did  their  utmost  to  de- 
stroy it — as,  e.  g.,  Paul  and  those  converted  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  ancient  and  modern 
heathen,  and  many  of  our  own  day  and  coun- 
try, who  were  once  skeptics,  but  who  afterward 
bore  witness  that  they  were  before  in  error. 
Some  of  them  too  are  men  of  the  very  highest 


260  Positive  Evidences.  [part  n. 

and  best -trained  powers  of  mind  that  have 
ever  been  known,  and  that  too  of  every  class 
of  intellect.  Philosophers,  statesmen,  poets, 
scientists — a  Paul,  a  Justin,  a  Bacon,  a  New- 
ton— Leibnitz,  Shakespeare,  Milton,  Faraday, 
Agassiz,  Maury,  and  a  host  of  other  of  the 
most  illustrious  men,  join  in  testifying  their 
firm  belief  in  Christianity. 

Such  testimony,  continued  through  so  many 
centuries,  is  sufficient  to  establish,  on  any  rea- 
sonable ground  of  evidence,  the  truth  of  any 
proposition ;  but  if,  as  we  have  seen  is  the  case 
with  Christianity,  there  is,  on  the  other  hand, 
absolutely  no  adverse  testimony,  we  must  accept  it 
as  true.  At  any  rate,  to  reject  it  against  this 
concurrent  positive  testimony  of  those  who 
have  put  it  to  the  practical  test  of  trial,  on 
the  ground  of  any  a  priori  reasoning,  not  to 
speak  of  prepossession  or  prejudice,  is  to  the 
last  degree  unscientific  and  absurd.  There  is 
but  one  way,  under  such  circumstances,  to 
disprove  it — viz.,  by  making  a  fair  and  candid 
trial  of  it  personally.  To  such  a  test  Chris- 
tianity continually  invites  all  men,  even  her 
enemies.  "  Prove  me  now  herewith,  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts,  if  I  will  not  open  you  the*  win- 
dows of  heaven,  and  pour  you  out  a  blessing, 
that  there  shall  not  be  room  enough  to  receive 
it."     "  Christianity,"  says  Coleridge,  "  is  not  a 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  261 

theory  or  a  speculation,  but  a  life ;  not  a  phi- 
losophy of  life,  but  a  life,  and  a  living  process. 
To  the  inquiry,  How  is  this  to  be  proved?  I 
answer,  Try  it.  It  has  been  eighteen  hundred 
years  in  existence,  and  has  one  individual  left 
a  record  like  the  following :  I  tried  it,  and  it 
did  not  answer?  Have  you  ever  met  with 
any  such  person  in  whom  you  could  put  full 
confidence?  Has  it  been  your  own  experi- 
ence ?  If  neither  your  own  experience  nor  the 
history  of  almost  two  thousand  years  has  pre- 
sented a  single  testimony  to  this  purport,  and 
if  you  have  yourself  met  with  some  one  in 
whom,  on  any  other  point,  you  would  place  un- 
qualified trust,  who,  on  his  own  experience, 
made  report  to  you  that  he  is  faithful  who 
promised,  and  what  he  promised  he  has  proved 
himself  able  to  perform,  is  it  bigotry  if  I  fear 
that  the  unbelief  which  prejudges  and  pre- 
vents the  experiment  with  you  has  its  source 
elsewhere  than  in  the  uncorrupted  judgment; 
that  not  the  strong,  free  mind,  but  the  enslaved 
will,  is  the  true,  original  infidel  in  this  in- 
stance ?  " 

II.  The  wonderful  results  flowing  from  the 
influence  of  Christianity  are  proved  also  by 
the  great  changes  it  has  manifestly  wrought 
in  the  world  at  large.  Convincing  as  is  the 
personal  testimony  of  those  who  have  made 


262  Positive  Evidences.  [PartIL 

trial  of  the  religion  of  Christ,  we  are  not  con- 
fined in  our  inquiry  as  to  what  are  its  actual 
results  to  their  witness  alone.  The  history 
also  of  the  past,  and  the  state  of  the  world  to- 
day, prove  beyond  controversy  the  unrivaled 
greatness  of  those  results,  both  in  the  depth, 
the  wide  extent,  and  the  permanence  of  the 
changes  wrought,  in  proportion  to  the  worldly 
means  that  it  used,  and  in  the  amount  of  good 
produced  by  them.  In  both  respects  those 
results  are  utterly  unapproached  in  the  history 
of  mankind ;  and  while  thus  they  indubitably 
confirm  the  testimony  of  Christians  as  to  their 
personal  experience  of  the  effects  of  Christian- 
ity upon  the  lives  of  men,  it  also  itself  shows 
that  those  effects  are  far  above  merely  human 
power,  and  therefore  are  divine. 

1.  The  history  of  the  early  growth  and  prog- 
ress of  Christianity  strikingly  manifests  this. 

(1)  Under  the  fiercest  persecutions  during 
the  first  three  hundred  years  of  its  history,  and 
though  it  used  no  worldly  means  whatever, 
but  constantly  taught  doctrines  of  humility, 
unworldliness,  and  unselfishness  —  doctrines 
the  most  repugnant  to  human  nature  —  the 
Church  of  Christ,  nevertheless,  against  the 
most  powerful  and  hostile  systems  of  religion, 
and  all  the  civil  and  military  power  of  Rome 
arrayed  against  it,  grew  on,  till,  from  a  score 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  263 

or  two  of  despised  Jews,  it  became  at  last  the 
national  Church  of  the  vast  Roman  empire, 
then  comprising  nearly  the  whole  known  world, 
and  containing  some  one  hundred  and  twenty 
million  people. 

(2)  Its  promulgators  thus  "induced  multi- 
tudes of  various  nations,  Romans,  Greeks,  and 
barbarians,  of  diverse  manners  and  languages, 
to  forsake  the  religion  of  their  ancestors;  to 
desert  ceremonies  defended  with  vigor  and  au- 
thority, sanctified  by  remote  age,  and  offering 
the  most  alluring  gratification  of  the  passions, 
to  embrace  doctrines  pure  and  spiritual,  whose 
severe  discipline  nature  still  opposes  and 
shrinks  from,  whose  high  mysteries  the  pride 
of  man  prompts  him  to  reject,  and  whose  pro- 
fession required  them  to  reject  almost  every 
opinion  hitherto  held  sacred,  and  exposed  them 
to  fierce  and  unpitying  persecution,  even  unto 
death."  Yet  did  the  Church  continue  might- 
ily to  increase. 

(3)  It  has  since  continually  increased  in 
numbers  and  in  influence.  The  following  ta- 
ble, taken  from  a  late  publication,  and  purport- 
ing to  be  the  work  of  the  historian,  Sharon 
Turner,  is  perhaps  very  nearly  correct,  and 
shows  substantially  the  rate  of  increase  of  the 
adherents  to  Christianity,  up  to  the  seven- 
teenth century — viz. : 


264  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

First  century 500,000 

Second  century 2,000,000 

Third  century 5,000,000 

Fourth  century 10,000,000 

Fifth  century 15,000,000 

Sixth  century 20,000,000 

Seventh  century 24,000,000 

Eighth  century 30,000,000 

Ninth  century 40,000,000 

Tenth  century 50,000,000 

Eleventh  century 70,000,000 

Twelfth  century 80,000,000 

Thirteenth  century 75,000,000 

Fourteenth  century 80,000,000 

Fifteenth  century 100,000,000 

Sixteenth  century 125,000,000 

Since  the  sixteenth  century  Christianity  has 
increased  still  more  marvelously,  until  now 
Johnson's  Cyclopaedia  (Art.  Christianity)  gives 
the  numbers  of  Christians,  in  1872,  throughout 
the  world,  at  380,000,000. 

It  is  no  slight  evidence  of  its  truth,  and  of 
its  divinity,  that  it  has  through  so  many  cent- 
uries not  only  survived  the  attack  of  so  many 
successive  enemies  from  without,  and  even  the 
frequent  betrayals  of  hypocrites  and  traitors 
within,  but  has  steadily  expanded  under  all  dis- 
advantages, in  an  irresistible  progress  through- 
out the  world.  All  other  systems,  at  most, 
have  spread  through  one  race  only,  or  a  few 
kindred  races  in  blood,  or  contiguous  in  local 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  265 

habitation;  all  others  have  become  stagnant, 
and  at  last  faded  away  before  the  light  of  civ- 
ilization. Christianity,  in  perfect  contrast  with 
them  all,  has  spread  with  equal  ease  through 
the  most  diverse  and  distant  races,  continues 
with  ever-increasing  energy  to  subjugate  the 
nations,  and  never  has  appeared  so  great  and 
powerful  as  in  the  unrivaled  light  of  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  present  day;  so  that,  while 
polytheism  was  rejected  by  all  the  leaders  of 
thought  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  when 
they  had  become  enlightened,  Christianity  has 
still  received  the  homage  of  the  greatest  intel- 
lects, and  in  the  present  generation  has  com- 
manded the  assent  of  such  mighty  minds  as 
those  of  a  Humboldt,  a  Faraday,  and  an  Agas- 
siz ;  and  all  this  progress,  be  it  remembered, 
has  been  without  the  use  of  worldly  power  or 
influence.  By  missionaries,  under  the  sever- 
est deprivations  and  persecutions,  have  all  her 
advances  almost  altogether  been  won,  and  not 
by  the  power  of  the  sword,,  or  by  the  use  of 
wrorldly  inducements.  All  these  have  opposed 
themselves  to  her;  nevertheless,  she  has  tri- 
umphed, and  still  triumphs,  over  them  all. 
On  the  other  hand,  no  other  system  among 
men — no  philosophy,  no  scheme  of  morals,  no 
educational  system,  no  religion — has  ever,  even 
when  backed  by  the  rewards  of  this  life  and 
12 


266  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

the  power  of  kings,  had  such  general,  such  per- 
manent, and  such  continued  success.  Truly, 
Christianity  is  above  all  that  is  merely  human 
— it  is  divine. 

2.  This  influence  of  Christianity  has  exerted 
over  man  a  superhuman  power  for  good. 

(1)  As  Christlieb  has  shown,  all  our  modern 
culture  is  essentially  the  product  of  Christian- 
ity. Our  written  language  even,  through  the 
influence  of  the  Bible,  has  been  largely  affected 
and  changed  by  it.  Our  arts  and  sciences — 
music,  painting,  sculpture,  architecture,  and 
the  modern  sciences — took  their  rise,  respect- 
ively, from  the  devotion  and  from  the  spirit  of 
free  inquiry  developed  by  Christianity;  and 
our  modern  views  in  relation  to  marriage  and 
the  family  life,  our  conceptions  of  right  and 
order,  and  our  habits  of  assiduous  labor,  are 
derived  from  its  teachings ;  so  that  it  is  impos- 
sible to  rend  asunder  our  culture  and  the  Chris- 
tian religion;  and  therefore,  in  whatever  de- 
gree the  former  is  valuable,  credit  must  be 
given  to  the  latter  for  its  good  influences. 

(2)  The  same  author  has  also  pointed  out 
that  a  high  and  permanent  civilization  can 
never  be  wrought  out  upon  any  other  princi- 
ples than  those  of  Christianity.  That  princi- 
ple, so  unknown  to  all  other  religions,  as  it  is, 
and  because  it  is,  also  to  all  the  natural  im- 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  267 

pulses  of  human  nature,  but  which  is  the  fun- 
damental principle  of  Christianity — viz.,  the 
principle  of  pure  benevolence,  or  love  to  all, 
as  opposed  to  selfishness,  alienation,  and  hate 
— must  necessarily  form  the  basis  of  all  high 
and  enduring  advancement  in  human  culture. 
The  following  quotation,  also  taken  from  a  con- 
temporary secular  journal,  well  shows  this: 
"No  candid  observer  will  deny  that  whatever 
good  there  may  be  in  our  American  civiliza- 
tion, it  is  the  product  of  Christianity.  Still 
less  can  he  deny  that  the  grand  motives  which 
are  working  for  the  elevation  and  purification 
of  our  society  are  strictly  Christian.  The  im- 
mense energies  of  the  Christian  Church,  stim- 
ulated by  the  love  that  shrinks  from  no  obsta- 
cle, are  all  bent  toward  this  great  aim  of  uni- 
versal purification.  These  millions  of  sermons 
and  exhortations,  which  are  a  constant  power 
for  good;  these  countless  prayers  and  songs 
of  praise,  on  which  the  heavy-laden  lift  their 
hearts  above  the  temptations  and  the  sorrows 
of  the  world — are  all  the  product  of  faith  in 
Jesus  Christ.  That  which  gives  us  protection 
by  day  and  night — the  dwellings  we  live  in, 
the  clothes  we  wear,  the  institutions  of  social 
order — all  these  are  the  direct  offspring  of 
Christianity.  All  that  distinguishes  us  from 
the  pagan  world,  all  that  makes  us  what  we 


268  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

are,  and  all  that  stimulates  us  in  the  task  of 
making  us  better  than  we  are,  is  Christian.  A 
belief  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  very  fountain-head 
of  every  thing  that  is  desirable  and  praise- 
worthy in  our  civilization,  and  this  civilization 
is  the  flower  of  time.  Humanity  has  reached 
its  noblest  thrift,  its  grandest  altitudes  of  ex- 
cellence, its  high-water  mark,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  this  faith." 

(3)  Christianity  is  the  only  hope  of  the  pres- 
ent heathen  world.  Just  as  it  was  the  only 
means  which  rescued  the  ancient  heathens 
from  the  deep  abyss  of  depravity  and  misery 
into  which  they  had  sunk,  so  now,  if  Christian- 
ity is  not  able  to  regenerate  the  present  hea- 
thens of  Asia  and  Africa,  there  is  no  other 
power  that  offers  to  do  it.  Those  who  object 
to  Christianity  would  do  well  to  ask  them- 
selves whether  skepticism  will  rescue  the  de- 
graded millions  of  India,  and  China,  and  bar- 
barous Africa ;  or,  if  they  have  any  plan,  or 
are  ready  to  put  in  operation  any  effort,  to 
save  them  from  the  degradations  and  miseries 
of  their  abject  superstitions.  If  not,  and  if 
Christianity  cannot,  then  the  larger  part  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  earth  are  abandoned  to 
hopeless  despair.  Commerce,  unattended  by 
Christianity,  cannot  do  it.  Bare  commerce, 
undertaken,  as  it  is,  only  for  the  purposes  of 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  269 

gain,  and  in  many  ways  ministering  to  the  evil 
passions  of  men — trading  in  the  intoxicating 
liquors,  the  opium,  etc.,  desired  by  the  debased 
habits  and  tastes  of  savages  and  half-civilized 
nations  —  bare  commerce,  exhibiting  at  best 
the  lower  appetites  of  men,  and  too  frequently 
carried  on  through  wicked  men,  can  do  noth- 
ing of  itself  to  refine  and  elevate  them.  What- 
ever is  so  done  must  be  from  the  occasional 
and  incidental  association  which  those  hea- 
then may  meet  in  commerce  with  men  of  su- 
perior character  and  habits,  from  Christian 
lands.  But  such  men  are  superior  to  the  hea- 
then only  because  they  do  belong  to  Christian 
nations,  and  have,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
imbibed  from  the  Christian  atmosphere  in 
which  they  have  been  nurtured  something  of 
Christian  feelings  and  principles.  Even  what 
good  influence,  then,  that  commerce  may  exert 
upon  the  heathen  is  traceable  to  Christianity ; 
and  thus,  again,  Christianity  is  seen  to  be  the 
only  hope  of  the  present  immense  world  of  the 
heathen. 

(4)  But  we  have  the  positive  evidence  of  the 
wonderful  power  of  Christianity,  in  modern 
times,  upon  men  plunged  in  the  lowest  depths 
of  heathen  ignorance  and  depravity.  "Sixty 
years  ago,"  says  Anderson,  in  a  late  essay  on 
Missions,   "there  was  not  a   solitary  native 


270  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

Christian  in  Polynesia ;  now  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult  to  find  a  professed  idolater  in  the  islands 
of  Eastern  or  Central  Polynesia,  where  Chris- 
tian missionaries  have  been  established.  The 
hideous  rites  of  their  forefathers  have  ceased 
to  be  practiced.  Their  heathen  legends  and 
war-songs  are  forgotten ;  their  cruel  and  deso- 
lating tribal  wars,  which  were  rapidly  destroy- 
ing the  population,  appear  to  be  at  an  end. 
They  are  gathered  together  in  peaceful  village 
communities ;  they  live  under  recognized  codes 
of  laws  ;  they  are  constructing  roads,  cultivat- 
ing their  fertile  lands,  and  engaging  in  com- 
merce. On  the  return  of  the  Sabbath,  a  very 
large  proportion  of  the  population  attend  the 
worship  of  God,  and,  in  some  instances^  more 
than  half  the  adult  population  are  recognized 
members  of  Christian  Churches.  They  edu- 
cate their  children,  endeavoring  to  train  them 
for  usefulness  in  after-life.  They  sustain  their 
native  ministers,  and  send  their  noblest  sons 
as  missionaries  to  the  heathen  lands  which  lie 
farther  west.  There  may  not  be  the  culture, 
the  wealth,  the  refinement,  of  the  older  lands 
of  Christendom.  These  things  are  the  slow 
growth  of  ages ;  but  these  lands  must  no  longer 
be  regarded  as  a  part  of  heathendom.  In  God's 
faithfulness  and  mercy,  they  have  been  won 
from  the  domains  of  heathendom,  and  have 


Ch.  8.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  271 

been  added  to  the  domains  of  Christendom.* 
Could  any  power  on  earth  have  so  changed 
those  savage  islanders  except  the  gospel? 
From  being  cannibals,  in  a  few  years  they 
have  established  all  the  forms  and  institutions 
of  civilized  life.  This  great  change  could  not 
have  been  effected  by  any  educational  process. 
To-day  there  are  highly  educated  men  in  India, 
but  they  are  still  heathen.  Nana  Sahib,  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  Sepoy  rebellion,  the  au- 
thor of  the  Cawnpore  massacre,  was  a  well-ed- 
ucated man,  not  only  in  his  own  language,  but 
also  in  English.  His  favorite  poet  was  Lord 
Byron.  Yet  he  was  truly  a  heathen.  ...  No 
religion  refines  and  purifies  as  Christianity. 
...  But  the  most  remarkable  results  of  mis- 
sionary labor  are  in  the  Fiji  Islands.  .  .  . 
Thirty  years  ago  they  were  all  cannibals.  A 
more  degraded  race  of  men  could  not  be  found ; 
but  in  thirty  years  they  have  become  a  civil- 
ized Christian  people.  .  .  .  Their  language  has 
been  mastered,  school  and  religious  books  writ- 
ten, .  .  .  and  twenty-two  thousand  two  hun-, 
dred  are  members  of  the  Church;  the  larger 
part  of  the  children  are  in  the  Sunday-school; 
they  have  six  hundred  and  sixty-three  native 
ministers,  and  more  than  one  thousand  school- 
teachers teach  thirty -six  thousand  pupils  in 

*  Keport  of  London  Missionary  Society  for  1866,  p.  7. 


272  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

their  schools."  These  instances  may  suffice, 
without  citing  other  remarkable  instances — 
such  as  that  of  Madagascar,  and  other  heathen 
lands.  They  are  fully  sufficient  to  prove  that 
in  modern  times,  as  well  as  when  in  ancient 
days  the  gospel  regenerated  the  heathen  na- 
tions, Christianity  has  a  power,  never  other- 
wise beheld,  to  elevate  and  purify  the  basest  of 
mankind — a  power  superhuman  anc^  divine. 

Thus  the  actual  results  of  Christianity,  at- 
tested both  by  the  personal  testimony  of  those 
who  have  practically  tested  her  divine  power, 
and  by  the  great  and  permanent  moral  changes 
for  the  better  apparent  throughout  her  past 
history,  and  occurring  also  in  our  own  day — 
results  that  no  human  wisdom  or  power  has 
ever  been  able  to  effect,  but  which  have,  never- 
theless, been  wrought  by  Christianity,  without 
the  aid  of  human  power — these  also  give  in- 
controvertible evidence  to  the  superiority  of 
Christianity  to  all  that  is  human,  and  assert 
that  she  is  no  less  than  divine. 


Ch.  9.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  273 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THE  WEIGHT  OF   THE   EVIDENCE— RECAPITULA- 
TION  AND   CONCLUSION, 

In  conclusion,  let  us  now  sum  up  the  evidence 
that  has  been  adduced,  and  estimate  its  weight. 
The  question  before  us  is  whether  or  not  Chris- 
tianity is  superhuman  and  divine.  In  its 
decision  we  have  seen,  first,  that  a  divine  rev- 
elation is  possible;  that  human  testimony  is 
competent  to  prove  it ;  and  that  the  evidence 
in  this  particular  case  shows  that  the  narrative 
of  the  facts,  cited  to  prove  it,  must  be  accepted 
as  authentic  and  true.  We  have  next  exam- 
ined those  facts,  group  by  group,  and  from 
them  endeavored  to  show  the  divinity  of  Chris- 
tianity as  displayed  alike  in  the  origin  and 
divine  character  of  its  Founder,  its  own  di- 
vine teaching,  its  miraculous  attendant  cir- 
cumstances in  both  prophecies  and  miracles, 
and  its  superhuman  and  divine  results.  These, 
let  it  be  noted,  are  all  evidences  of  matters  of 
fact.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  absolutely 
no  rival  system  of  moral  truth  that  has,  or 
pretends  to  have,  any  evidence  whatever,  of 
such  matters  of  fact,  to  support  its  claim. 
12* 


274  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

There  is,  then,  no  positive  evidence  of  any  op- 
posing system  being  true.  There  are  onty 
some  objections  against  Christianity,  and  these 
are  not  founded  upon  any  contradictory  evi- 
dence relating  to  the  facts  essential. to  Chris- 
tianity, but  only  upon  certain  a  priori  specula- 
tions, and  theories,  or  alleged  facts  of  physical 
science,  etc.,  which,  if  true,  are,  at  most,  but 
doubtfully  inconsistent  themselves  with  the 
great  facts  of  Christianity,  and  for  whose  truth 
it  may  confidently  be  asserted  that  there  is 
not  a  tithe  of  the  evidence  that  there  is  for 
the  truth  of  the  latter — and  which,  in  fine,  are 
altogether  denied  by  some  scientists  of  great 
authority,  and  maintained  by  others  to  be  not 
inconsistent  with  Christianity. 

But,  to  perceive  the  extreme  absurdity  of 
such  objections,  let  us  remember  that,  were 
there  beyond  question  a  set  of  facts  proved, 
which  were  apparently  wholly  inconsistent 
with  Christianity,  we  still,  upon  the  principles 
of  science  itself,  should  not  be  justified  there- 
fore in  rejecting  Christianity,  if  Christianity 
also  has  uncontroverted  evidence  of  its  own 
to  show  that  its  claims  are  true,  for  both 
may  be  true.  It  is  not  unknown  in  the  histo- 
ry of  science  that  two  facts,  or  two  sets  of  facts, 
have  been  proved  by  equal  evidence  to  exist, 
which  at  first  seemed  utterly  inconsistent  with 


Ch.  9.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  275 

each  other.  But  the  truly  scientific  course 
in  such  a  case  was  not  to  reject  either,  but, 
ascribing  the  difficulty,  where  it  belongs,  to 
our  weakness  of  reason,  etc.,  to  go  patiently  to 
work  to  discover  their  real  relation  and  actual 
harmony.  So  we  must  do  in  the  case  of  sci- 
ence and  Christianity.  Besides,  on  what  prin- 
ciple are  we  authorized  to  reject  one  set  of 
facts,  if  supported  by  proper  evidence,  in  favor 
of  another  set,  which  also  are  supported  only 
by  evidence  ?  If  Christianity  and  science  re- 
ally do  come  in  conflict,  why  not  reject  science 
if  Christianity  possesses  sufficient  evidence  of 
its  truth  ?  Whether  it  has  such  sufficient  evi- 
dence is  indeed  another  question,  and  proper 
to  be  asked ;  but  if  it  has,  it  is  not  to  be  then 
set  aside  because  it  is  supposed  to  conflict  with 
some  other  system  which  is  itself  established 
only  because  it  too  has  sufficient  evidence.  In 
fine,  the  whole  question  is  manifestly  but  a 
question  of  evidence.  If  there  is  not  sufficient 
positive  evidence  for  the  establishment  of 
Christianity,  then  we  must  reject  it ;  if  there 
is,  we  must,  on  scientific  principles,  admit  its 
claims,  though  there  even  be  (which,  indeed,  in 
the  judgment  of  many  of  the  best  scientists,  is 
very  far  from  certain)  some  other  facts  undoubt- 
edly proved  which,  to  our  imperfect  minds,  seem 
to  be  entirelv  inconsistent  therewith. 


276  Positive  Evidences.  [Fart  II. 

The  same  difficulty  continually  occurs  also 
in  trials  at  law.  Almost  always,  in  the  trial 
of  causes,  there  are  some  circumstances  proved 
which  seem  to  be  contradictory  to  the  decision 
rendered.  Nevertheless,  a  decision  of  some 
sort  must  be  made ;  and  it  is  properly  thought, 
in  such  cases,  that  the  circumstances  which 
may  apparently  contradict  what  seems,  upon 
the  whole,  to  be  the  truth  of  the  matter,  are 
not  really  contradictory,  but  only,  because  of 
our  want  of  full  information,  weakness  of  rea- 
son, etc.,  incapable  of  being  harmonized  by  us. 

Nay,  in  the  commonest  affairs  of  life — in 
those  things  which  are  most  open  to  our  in- 
spection, most  familiar  to  us,  and  therefore 
most  likely  to  be  understood — there  exists,  in 
very  many  cases,  this  apparent  contradiction, 
unexplainable  by  us.  Surely  this  should  teach 
us  humility,  and  lead  us  to  beware  of  saying, 
in  the  higher  and  more  difficult  things  of  re- 
ligion and  science,  because,  in  the  judgment 
of  some,  though  not  of  others,  there  exists  an 
apparent  inconsistency,  that  therefore  Chris- 
tianity must  be  rejected. 

Christianity,  then,  must  have  its  claims  de- 
cided independently — just  as  those  of  science  or 
any  other  system  are  —  by  the  positive  evi- 
dences it  adduces  for  their  establishment. 
Accordingly,  to  those  evidences  we  confidently 


Ch.  9.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  277 

appeal,  and  assert  that,  upon  all  the  settled 
rules  of  evidence,  as  quoted  in  Part  First — 
rules  which  are  always  followed  everywhere 
else,  in  common  life,  in  trials  at  law,  and  in 
the  researches  of  science,  for  the  establish- 
ment of  matters  of  fact — those  evidences  are 
overwhelmingly  conclusive  in  its  favor.     For, 

1st.  Every  kind  of  evidence  possible  in  the 
nature  of  the  case  is  presented  in  its  favor. 
We  should  indeed  demand  that  a  religion  pro- 
fessing to  be  divine  should  give  some  evidence 
of  its  divinity  in — (1)  The  origin  and  (2)  the 
character  of  its  Founder;  (3)  his  teaching; 
(4)  his  prophecies ;  (5)  his  miraculous  works ; 
(6)  and  in  the  actual  results  accomplished 
among  men.  But  we  can  demand  no  other 
kind  of  evidence.  But  Christianity,  and  no 
other  religion,  has  them  all.  What  more  can 
we  ask? 

2d.  On  the  other  hand,  to  disbelieve  Chris- 
tianity, we  must  believe — (1)  That  it  arose, 
not  as  alleged  (though  its  alleged  origin  is 
uncontradicted  by  any  evidence),  but  in  some 
other  way,  unknown  and  inconceivable,  but 
yet  sufficient  to  produce,  what  Christianity 
undoubtedly  is,  the  purest  and  mightiest  moral 
system  that  has  ever  existed  on  earth.  (2) 
That  the  testimony  of  Christ  and  his  apostles, 
though  they  are  acknowledged  to  have  been 


278  Positive  Evidences.  [part  II. 

the  wisest  and  best  of  men,  was  false,  or  that 
Christ  never  really  existed,  and  those  wonder- 
ful books  of  the  Gospels  which  give  an  account 
of  his  life — impossible  for  merely  human  abil- 
ity to  produce  at  all — were  forgeries  and  lies, 
and  that  when  there  was  no  worldly  advantage 
to  gain  from  the  lie,  but  every  thing  to  lose. 
(3)  That  vast  numbers  of  people,  including 
fierce  and  watchful  enemies  as  well  as  friends, 
were  deceived  about  frequent  and  public  mira- 
cles, or,  knowing  their  falsity,  yet  remained 
silent  about  them.  (4)  That  the  prophecies, 
extending  through  generations  for  their  fulfill- 
ment, were  but  the  result  of  human  sagacity 
and  penetration.  (5)  Finally,  that  all  Chris- 
tians have,  in  all  succeeding  ages,  been  mis- 
taken as  to  their  own  experience,  and  have 
been  miserably  deluded,  even  to  the  endurance 
of  torture  and.  death,  sooner  than  they  would 
renounce  their  religion.  Surely  it  requires 
more  credulity  to  assent  to  the  asseverations 
of  infidelity  than  to  believe  in  Christ.* 

*  The  Unbeliever's  Creed. — "  1.  I  believe  there  is 
no  God,  but  that  matter  is  God,  and  God  is  matter,  and 
that  it  is  no  matter  whether  there  is  any  God  or  no.  2.  I 
believe  that  the  world  was  not  made ;  that  the  world  made 
itself;  that  it  had  no  beginning,  and  that  it  will  last  for- 
ever, world  without  end.  3.  I  believe  that  man  is  a  beast ; 
that  the  soul  is  the  body,  and  the  body  is  the  soul ;  and 


Ch.  9.}  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  279 

3d.  Finally,  the  full  force  of  the  argument 
is  to  be  seen  only  when  we  consider  not  only 
the  weight  of  the  evidence,  which  each  of  the 
great  facts  adduced  in  support  of  Christianity 
carries,  but  their  cumulative,  overpowering 
weight  when  taken  together.  The  improba- 
bility of  Christianity's  being  false  arises  not 
merely  from  the  improbability  that  any  one 
of  these  remarkable  characteristics  should  be 
found  attending  a  false  system,  but  from  the 
almost  infinite  improbability  that  so  many  of 
those  characteristics  should  so  harmoniously 
coincide  therein.  It  is  a  settled  point  in  courts 
of  law  that,  in  the  trial  of  causes,  the  decision 
should  not  be  reached  by  the  consideration  of 
any  single  matter  of  fact,  but  by  the  consider- 
ation of  all  the  issues  in  the  case,  and  what 
upon  the  whole  is  established  by  the  prepon- 
derating evidence.  This  principle  is  fully  ad- 
after  death  there  is  neither  body  nor  soul.  4.  I  believe 
that  there  is  no  religion ;  that  natural  religion  is  the  only- 
religion  ;  and  that  all  religion  is  unnatural.  5.  I  believe 
not  in  Moses ;  I  believe  in  the  First  Philosophy ;  I  believe 
not  the  Evangelists ;  I  believe  in  Chubb,  Collins,  Hume, 
Voltaire,  and  Tom  Paine ;  I  believe  not  St.  Paul.  6.  I 
believe  not  Revelation ;  I  believe  in  the  Talmud  and  the 
Koran;  I  believe  not  the  Bible;  I  believe  in  Socrates 
I  believe  in  Confucius ;  I  believe  in  Mohammed ;  I  believe 
not  in  Christ.  7.  Lastly,  I  believe  in  all  unbelief."  — 
Home's  Introduction,  Vol.  I.,  p.  159,  Note  4. 


280  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

mittecl  in  the  investigations  of  science  also 
(vide  JevonSs  "  Principles  of  Science,"  I.,  239)  ; 
and  the  rule  which  is  there  laid  down  to  ascer- 
tain the  probability  of  any  conclusion  is,  to 
multiply  together  "  the  fractions  expressing 
the  probabilities  of  the  premises,"  and  the 
fraction  resulting  will  express  the  probability 
of  the  whole  taken  together.  For  instance,  if 
we  have  five  facts  concurring  to  establish  a 
conclusion,  and  the  probability  of  each  of  those 
supporting  facts  is  as  5  to  1,  or  f,  the  proba- 
bility of  the  conclusion,  derived  from  the  con- 
currence of  those  separate  five  probable  facts, 
is  found  by  multiplying  the  fraction  \  by  itself 
five  times,  amounting  to  4^,  or  as  5625  to  1. 
Now,  applying  this  to  ascertain  the  degree  of 
probability  of  the  divinity  of  the  Scriptures, 
wre  get  an  almost  infinite  probability.  Take, 
for  example,  the  first  set  of  facts  adduced — 
viz.,  the  preparation  of  the  world  for  Christ's 
coming.  Even  infidels  must  admit,  to  account 
upon  their  own  theories  for  the  great  and  rapid 
spread  of  Christianity,  that  the  world  was  ripe 
for  his  coming.  They  must  also  admit,  seeing 
the  utter  final  failure  of  all  other  would-be 
reformers,  even  such  as  Socrates,  Plato,  Con- 
fucius, or  as  Voltaire,  Rousseau,  etc. — whom 
some  claim  to  be  equal,  or  even  superior,  to 
Christ — that   such  an  exceedingly  favorable 


Ch.  9.]  Weight  of  the  Evidence.  281 

opportunity  for  reforming  mankind  but  seldom 
occurs.  We  are  authorized,  then,  in  asserting 
that  the  improbability  of  such  a  concurrence 
of  favorable  circumstances  happening  to  a 
merely  human  teacher,  who  could  have  no 
power  of  previously  arranging  them,  is  very 
great.  Adding  to  this  the  prophecies  that 
foretold  so  minutely  the  coming  of  Jesus,  the 
improbability  of  the  concurrence  of  a  second 
such  fortunate  coincidence  is  made  much 
greater,  and,  since  this  is  the  sole  case  of  the 
kind  in  the  history  of  the  world,  can  be  ac- 
counted as  no  less  than  many  thousands  to 
one — let  us,  however,  with  extreme  reserve 
say,  as  20  to  1,  or  ^~.  Again,  the  improbabil- 
ity that  such  a  Teacher  should  far  surpass  in 
character  all  others  of  the  human  race,  is 
equal,  at  least,  to  the  whole  number  of  the 
human  family  to  one — that  is,  some  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  millions  to  one — but  still  let 
us  say  this  too  is  but  as  ^.  So,  respectively, 
as  to  the  superiority  of  his  teaching  far  sur- 
passing all  that  all  others  have  taught;  his 
wonderful  works,  esteemed  by  all  that  saw 
him  as  miracles;  his  predictions,  and  the 
amazing  results  of  his  mission — let  us  estimate 
the  improbability  of  each  occurring  in  a  mere- 
ly human  system  at  the  same  ratio  of  &■  (al- 
though since,  in  fact,  the  whole  multitude  of 


282  Positive  Evidences.  [Part  II. 

human  systems — much  more  in  number  than 
20  —  from  time  to  time  propounded,  have 
been,  without  exception,  deficient  in  all  these 
particulars,  this  is,  without  doubt,  a  ratio 
much  too  small),  and  multiply.  The  result  is 
3200l000Q,  or  it  is  32,000,000  times  to  1  improb- 
able that  these  characteristics  should  concur 
in  any  merely  human  system ;  in  other  words, 
it  is  32,000,000  times  to  1  probable  that  Chris- 
tianity is  superhuman  and  divine.  We  be- 
lieve this  is  much  below  the  true  probability. 
But  if  any  one  thinks  this  ratio  of  $A  in  each 
of  the  above  cases  is  too  great,  let  him  put  it 
at  5  to  1 — nay,  take  even  2  to  1 — and  still,  in 
the  latter  case,  we  shall  have,  as  the  proba- 
bility of  our  conclusion,  32  to  1 — a  proportion 
which  ought  to  satisfy  every  candid  mind. 

We  conclude,  then,  our  review  with  the  full 
conviction  that  Christianity,  beyond  any  rea- 
sonable doubt,  is  truly  divine. 

(Finished  Christmas-day,  1879.    Laus  Deo!) 


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